Tribal social worker sentenced for becoming payee for a disabled child in her care
Akeatha Diane Akintola, 48, formerly of Bellevue, Washington, a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds and was ordered into custody on June 17, 2026 to serve five months in prison for stealing $17,638 in Social Security survivor benefits meant for a disabled minor who was a ward of the Tribe. The Tribe prohibits its social workers from becoming a representative payee for any child under its care. She applied by telephone in September 2023, had the benefits deposited into an account she controlled and spent them on herself. She failed to appear at the original May 22, 2026 hearing after leaving the United States. She is barred from becoming a representative payee for anyone in the future.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $17,638
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Representative payee fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-20
The facts, as recorded
- Akintola became a social worker for the Snoqualmie Tribe in January 2023. In September 2023 she applied by telephone to be the Social Security representative payee for a minor child with intellectual disabilities who was a ward of the Tribe and whose mother had died, leaving survivor benefits to the child.
- The Tribe prohibits its social workers from becoming a representative payee for any child under its care.
- Akintola used the child's Social Security number and her own to apply, and once appointed had the benefits deposited into a bank account she controlled. She spent the money for her own benefit.
- In July 2024, after she had been collecting the benefits for at least five months, she went with her supervisor to the Social Security Administration to find out what had happened to the child's funds. When Social Security reported that she was the payee, she denied it to her supervisor, and she resigned the next day.
- The plea and sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for May 22, 2026 but she failed to appear. Prosecutors learned she had left the United States on May 20, 2026 and travelled to Togo using a passport issued in a different last name.
- She appeared at the hearing on June 17, 2026, pleaded guilty to theft of public funds and was ordered into custody to serve five months in prison, with $17,638 in restitution to the Social Security Administration.
- Magistrate Judge S. Kate Vaughan said she was struck by the fact that Akintola targeted a vulnerable victim.
- She is precluded from becoming a Social Security representative payee for anyone in the future.
- The case was investigated by the SSA Office of Inspector General and the Snoqualmie Tribal Police.
Why this case matters
It is the most recent of the documented cases. The release says Akintola applied by telephone, using the child’s Social Security number and her own, and was appointed, although the Tribe prohibits its social workers from being a payee for a child in their care.
Found by asking
The scheme ended when Akintola went with her supervisor to the Social Security Administration to find out what had happened to the child’s funds. According to the release, Social Security reported that she was the payee, she denied it to her supervisor, and she resigned the next day.
The caveat
Akintola pleaded guilty and has been sentenced, so the conduct above is what she admitted, taken from the US Attorney’s release as reproduced by the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General. The release includes statements from a representative of the Tribe, which this page does not reproduce. It does not name the child.
Sources
- Former Bellevue Social Worker Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Benefits from a Vulnerable Victim. Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General (reproducing a US Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington release). Accessed 2026-10-20. Supports: Every fact above: Akintola's role, the September 2023 application, the Tribe's prohibition, the account she controlled, the July 2024 visit and denial, the failure to appear and travel to Togo, the June 2026 plea and five-month sentence, restitution and the ban on future payee roles.