Am Samoa woman once again sentenced for stealing social security benefits — this time her husband's

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 71-year old woman from American Samoa and currently residing in Nevada, who was previously convicted of stealing her late father’s social security benefits, was sentenced Monday at the federal court in Las Vegas for a similar crime — this time, stealing the social security benefits of her late husband, according to federal court filings.

U.S District Court Judge Andrew P. Gordon sentenced Florence Faamaligi Levao to serve one-year and one-day in federal prison. The defendant — who was placed on a 3-year supervised release after serving her jail term — pled guilty in July 2021, to one count of theft of government funds.

According to court documents, from October 2014 to March 2018, Levao stole approximately $40,625 of her late husband’s social security benefits for her personal use.

During sentencing, the court ordered the defendant to pay restitution — the amount that she stole in social security benefits of her late husband. And she is given until 12noon on Apr. 29 to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to serve her sentence at the designated detention center.

Federal prosecutors said in a sentencing statement filed last month in court, that the defendant had previously been convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing over $200,000 of her deceased father’s social security benefits.

Prosecutors recommended the 12-months and one-day in jail, to be followed by three-years supervised release.

While the defendant is “active in her community and volunteers her time,” prosecutors argued that the recommended sentence is necessary to reflect the history and characteristics of the defendant, the nature and circumstances of the offense, to promote respect for the law and provide just punishment, to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, and to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.

Prosecutors said that since the defendant’s 2011 conviction of stealing benefits from her late deceased father, Levao has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the Court’s orders and for the law.

For example, while on supervised release for the 2011 conviction, the defendant’s conditions of supervision were modified on January 2014 to add 50 hours of community service and the requirement that she surrender all travel documents after she traveled to American Samoa without the court’s permission.

And it was in 2014 — while on supervised release on the 2011 conviction — the defendant committed the current crime of stealing benefits from her late husband’s social security benefits.

Prosecutors argued that this is not a crime of need, and points out that a review of the bank account used to steal her late husband’s social security benefits, shows that during calendar year 2017, the defendant deposited funds and received incoming wires and transfers totaling approximately $90,000 from non-governmental sources during this time period, along with an additional $10,000 in what appear to be benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Defendant did not need the money she stole; she stole it because she could,” prosecutors argued in court document.

The defense had requested a sentence of five years’ probation with the first 12 months to be served on house arrest, citing her age and poor health.

The defense’s sentencing statement detailed the defendant’s education and employment background (both in American Samoa and the U.S), her family and other issues, such as her community service in the U.S.

According to the defense, Levao holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and was employed with the ASG Human and Social Service Department from 1998 to 2003.

During this employment, Levao acted in a number of roles including child protective services counselor, program manager for the Women and Children Shelter of Abuse, counselor for jail inmates, and family preservation counselor, and appeared on television three times a week to increase awareness of child abuse laws in hopes of preventing other children from exposure to abuse.