WESTLAND, MI — A Westland woman was sentenced to prison this week after defrauding the U.S. and Michigan governments of nearly half a million, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Sophia Quill, 63, was sentenced to 6 1/2 to 20 years in prison Wednesday in 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County before Judge Anne McCarthy, according to the release.
Quill pleaded no contest in January to one count of conducting a criminal enterprise and eight counts of false pretenses for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Michigan Department of Treasury. She agreed to repay $470,000 to the two agencies.
Between 2013 and 2019, Quill and co-defendant Melissa Flores defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $430,000 and the Michigan Department of Treasury of more than $40,000, according to the release.
Quill and Flores created aliases and fake documents to make it appear that they were heirs to various deceased benefit-earning U.S. veterans and heirs entitled to unclaimed property from the Michigan Department of Treasury, according to the release.
Wayne County Judge Cynthia Stevens sentenced Flores to two years in prison and ordered her to pay $110,000 restitution.
Additionally, Steven Decker, Quill’s adult son, received profits from the scheme, according to the release.
Decker, 34, of Wyandotte, was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay $28,506 restitution after pleading no contest to two counts of receiving stolen property valued at $1,000-$20,000, in Wayne Circuit Court.
“The co-defendants in this case stole hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to fund hard-earned benefits for service members and their rightful heirs,” Nessel said. “My department worked diligently to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive restitution in the resolution of this case and that Quill, the mastermind, receive a significant sentence.”
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