Woman admits forging dead mother’s name on benefit checks

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A New York woman admits she forged her dead mother’s name to continue receiving workers compensation benefits from the state.

The New York state inspector general’s office says 58-year-old Virginia Donahue pleaded guilty Wednesday in Niagara Falls City Court to attempted petty larceny. She’s paid back more than $1,100.

Authorities say Donahue’s mother had been receiving benefits since the work-related death of her husband 19 years earlier. When the mother died, they say Donahue continued to cash the biweekly checks for at least two months.