By: Richard L. Smith
A Passaic County woman has admitted to defrauding the Social Security Administration out of more than $144,000 in survivor benefits over a ten-year period, federal officials announced.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba, Joan Charnecky, 60, of West Milford, pled guilty on September 10, 2025, before Senior U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to one count of theft of public money.
Federal court records show that Charnecky’s mother was receiving widow’s insurance benefits until her death in 2012.
Rather than notify the Social Security Administration, Charnecky continued to withdraw the monthly deposits electronically placed into her late mother’s account.
Investigators determined that from 2012 through 2022, Charnecky took approximately $144,768.30 in survivor benefits for her own personal use.
The theft of public money charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 
Charnecky is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2026.