A Tonganoxie woman who used the identity of a long-deceased relative to fund a decade-long double life was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for raking in roughly $450,000 in fraudulent government benefits.
Tamera Ruth Powers, 68, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after investigators discovered she spent years collecting duplicate state and federal payments under two entirely separate names.
Court documents show that the scheme traces back to identity theft. Powers stole the identity of Minda Sue Rakestraw, a relative who died in 1977. Using the dead relative’s information, Powers managed to get a Kansas identification card and eventually married a man, taking his last name to become Minda Sue Landis.
From there, Powers juggled two distinct identities, setting up accounts at two separate banks to keep the money streams hidden from each other.
In April 2005, she applied for Social Security Administration (SSA) Disability benefits under the alias Minda Sue Landis. Seven years later, in August 2012, she filed for disability benefits again—this time using her real name, Tamera Powers, and falsely checked a box stating she had never applied for SSA benefits before.
The double-dipping expanded heavily in 2013. In August of that year, Powers applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under her real name, intentionally hiding her marital status, her alternate name, and her second Social Security number. That same month, she applied for food stamps (SNAP) and utility assistance (LIEAP) through the State of Kansas. By hiding her marriage and her husband’s actual income, she qualified for thousands of dollars she wasn’t legally entitled to receive. By December 2013, she added Medicaid to the list, again hiding her marriage and her true household income to bypass eligibility limits.
The fraud continued into recent years. In June 2023, Powers applied for SSA Retirement Insurance Benefits under her real name, repeating the same lies that she was single and had never used an alias.
By the time the system caught up with her, the 10-year scheme had cost taxpayers a total of $453,097. The federal government lost $137,839, while the State of Kansas was defrauded out of $315,257. Alongside her 15-month prison term, a federal judge ordered Powers to pay the full $452,097 back in restitution.
“Public benefits provide a safety net to those who need and legally qualify for the assistance,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said. “Defrauding the system by misappropriating taxpayer money is a violation of public trust, and it’s only a matter of time until we find the perpetrators and hold them accountable.”
Kriegshauser added that families can protect themselves against post-mortem identity theft by promptly reporting deaths to the SSA and major credit bureaus.
The multi-agency investigation involved the Social Security Administration OIG, the Office of the Kansas Inspector General, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, and the Kansas Department of Revenue. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Oakley prosecuted the case.
“This sentencing sends a strong message that schemes to defraud the Medicaid, SNAP, LIEAP, and Social Security Disability programs will not be tolerated,” Kansas Inspector General Steven D. Anderson said, noting that his office will continue tracking down individuals exploiting these programs.
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