MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A Miami Gardens woman is accused of fraud after allegedly using a fraudulent Cuban marriage license to obtain Social Security benefits for a deceased man, authorities said.
According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the Social Administration Office of the Inspector General initiated an investigation into Marilyn Mato, 62, who was born in Cuba but is now a U.S. citizen, in April 2022.
Detectives said Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the marriage certificate provided by Mato did not match their official records and was fraudulent.
Due to the fraudulent document, Mato was able to obtain $73,627 from April 2022 to January 2026, the arrest report stated.
Mato was located Thursday and arrested on charges of second-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
As of Friday morning, Mato was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Online jail records listed her total bond as “to be set.”
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