Naperville mom accused of cheating social security

A Naperville mother is facing theft charges after being accused of pocketing $13,800 in social security benefits for a disabled daughter who was not in her care.

Deana L. Lawrence is charged with theft by deception, a felony punishable by three to seven years in prison if she is convicted. Lawrence also would be eligible for probation.

A DuPage County judge set bail Wednesday at $75,000, meaning the 37-year-old woman must post the required 10 percent to be set free. Her court appearance followed Tuesday's grand jury indictment.

Lawrence has been in the DuPage County jail since Aug. 24 on domestic battery charges after her live-in boyfriend accused her of pushing him in the chest during a dispute, court records showed. She needs to post an additional $200 bail in that case.

In the latest allegation, Lawrence is accused of unlawfully collecting $13,800 in Social Security Administration income benefits for her daughter between April 2004 and Aug. 29, 2008.

"She was claiming she had care and custody of the child while the child had been in her father's custody since March 2004," said Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney Diane Michalak.

The 13-year-old girl has a developmental disability, Michalak said. She said the father reported the theft allegations, which sparked the police investigation. Lawrence, who lives in an apartment on the 100 block of East Bailey Road in Naperville, is due in court Friday on the misdemeanor domestic battery complaint.