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SI woman stole Qns. granny’s benefits: DA

By Courtney Dentch

A Staten Island woman was charged with Social Security fraud for allegedly taking $46,000 worth of government benefits intended for her grandmother, a Queens resident who died in 1996, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Claudette Codrington, 63, a hospital housekeeper and grandmother of nine, was charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records, Brown said. She allegedly cashed the checks at two locations in southeast Queens and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, he said.

According to the criminal charges, Codrington became the official payee for her grandmother in 1987, when her grandmother, whose name was not released, became senile. Codrington filed documents with the government saying that she would submit paperwork on how she spent the benefits and that she would notify the government in the event of her grandmother’s death, Brown said.

But Codrington allegedly failed to notify the Social Security Administration when her grandmother died on Feb. 10, 1996. Between Feb. 11, 1996 and June 3, 2002, Codrington allegedly cashed more than 70 checks in amounts ranging from $600 to $700 at two check-cashing outlets in southeast Queens, Brown said.

The outlets were identified as Neighborhood Check Cashing Corporation at 247-12 South Conduit Ave. in Rosedale, and Melissa Check Cashing at 196-13 Linden Blvd. in St. Albans.