Poland Woman Sentenced, Ordered to Repay $165,878 for Theft of Government Money

PORTLAND, Maine: A Poland woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Susie Files, 65, to 36 months of probation and ordered her to pay $165,878 in restitution. Files pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025.

According to court records, Files lied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Maine Department of Health & Human Services (Maine DHHS) for more than a decade. In multiple benefit eligibility reviews, Files falsely represented to these agencies that she and her husband lived separately, and omitted his presence from her household despite knowing that she was required to disclose that information, and that it could affect her eligibility for benefits. Investigators uncovered the deception in March 2023. When interviewed, Files acknowledged that she lived with her husband during this period.

Files' husband, Peter Files, previously pleaded guilty to MaineCare and SNAP fraud on May 8, 2025. He was sentenced to repay $45,615.78 in restitution to those programs on August 25, 2025.

The SSA's Office of the Inspector General and Maine DHHS's Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit investigated the case.

###