A Bellevue social worker who was supposed to help protect one of the Snoqualmie Tribe’s most vulnerable children is headed to federal prison after admitting she stole thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits meant for the child, who has intellectual disabilities. Akeatha Diane Akintola, 48, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds and was sentenced to five months in prison. She was ordered into federal custody this week, must repay $17,638, and is permanently barred from serving as a Social Security representative payee.
How Prosecutors Say She Pulled It Off
According to federal prosecutors, Akintola joined the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023, working as a social worker assigned to the minor. In September 2023, she applied by phone to the Social Security Administration to become the child’s representative payee, using both the child’s Social Security number and her own to complete the paperwork. Prosecutors say she then had the monthly benefits routed into a bank account she controlled and spent the money on personal expenses, despite a tribal policy that forbids social workers from serving as representative payees. U.S. Attorney’s Office
What Came Out in Court
At sentencing, Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan did not mince words, calling Akintola’s conduct “an ethical breach beyond imagining.” A representative for the Tribe told the court that Akintola “weaponized her position of power to systematically steal from a grieving, autistic child.”
Prosecutors say the scheme began to unravel in July 2024 when Akintola and her supervisor went to the Social Security Administration to find out why the child’s benefits had been cut off. That visit is when they learned Akintola herself was listed as the representative payee. U.S. Attorney’s Office
Missed Hearing, Overseas Trip, and Fast Return
The court case came with its own twist. Akintola missed a May 22 court date, and prosecutors later determined she had left the United States and traveled to Togo on a passport issued under a different last name, according to reporting by KIRO 7. She returned in June and entered a guilty plea.
The judge ordered her to begin serving the five-month sentence immediately and required restitution. The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Snoqualmie Tribal Police, and was prosecuted by a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to handle Social Security fraud cases. KIRO 7
Why This Case Matters Legally
The Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General has emphasized that converting Supplemental Security Income or other Social Security benefits for personal use is a federal crime, carrying a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. SSA Office of Inspector General Authorities say this sentence highlights how federal and tribal agencies can work together to track down misuse of benefit payments and hold representative payees to account.
