Redfield Woman Sentenced For Theft Of Government Funds And Misuse Of Benefits

A 40-year-old Redfield woman has avoided serving time in federal prison after being sentenced Tuesday for theft of government funds and misuse of benefits by a representative payee. Jana Hartford was indicted by a federal grand jury in February of 2012 and convicted of the two crimes during a trial in October of last year. Hartford was found guilty by a jury of defrauding the Old Age, Survivor and Disability Insurance Program, by misusing Title-two disability benefits she received as a representative payee from December of 2010 to June of 2011. The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, which administers the Old Age, Survivor and Disability Insurance Program. Hartford was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation, seven-thousand-433 dollars in restitution and a 200 dollar special assessment.