Steep penalty for cashing checks

A Salt Lake woman has discovered that if you get caught cashing Social Security checks made out to a dead relative, you could end up paying the government back three times the amount.

Sarah Ann Larsen accepted a civil settlement last week, agreeing to pay the Social Security Administration $150,000. The amount is three times the amount that she wrongfully took through cashing the checks.

According to federal officials, Larsen and her father cashed Social Security and Utah Retirement System checks of the deceased relative from June 2001 through October 2007.

— Geoffrey Fattah