UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MARCEL KIZA
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Duncan, May 1, 2017,
Theft of Government Property – Social Security survivors benefits are government property and fraudulent receipt of those benefits can constitute Theft of Government Property under 18 USC 641

Facts: Kiza fraudulently applied for two social security numbers and then claimed that he had died, seeking social security survivors benefits on one of the numbers.
He was convicted after a trial of Theft of Government Property under 18 USC 641.
On appeal, he claimed that he couldn’t be convicted of theft of government property because social security benefits are paid into by individuals and belong to the individuals, not the government.

Law:
Held: The Court disagreed, holding that social security benefits are paid out by the Treasury and constitute government property.

A conviction under 18 USC 641 requires:
(1) the money or property described in the indictment is money or a thing of value of the United States
(2) that the defendant stole, fraudulently received, or converted to his own use
(3) with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive the government of that money or thing of value.