Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Mom taught her 2 kids to fake retardation

Mother admits coaching children to collect more than $280,000 in benefits

Video: Crime & courts  
Calif. court OKs gay marriage
  May 16: California's supreme court declares that gay couples in the state can marry, but the ruling faces a constitutional amendment. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

  Stand and be counted
Gut Check America

What keeps you up at night? Gut Check America wants you to tell us what really matters to our country. Click here to learn more and get involved.

  Photo features  
  More
Image: A young boy plays in Lake Malawi
Reuters
  The Week in Pictures
Natural disasters devastate parts of Myanmar and China, while natural – and human – wonders in Chile and Switzerland strike awe.
Image: University fire
AP
PhotoBlog
View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.
updated 9:10 a.m. ET Feb. 27, 2007

TACOMA, Wash. - A woman admitted Monday that she coached her two children to fake retardation starting when they were 4 and 8 years old so she could collect Social Security benefits on their behalf.

Rosie Costello, 46, admitted in U.S. District Court that she collected more than $280,000 in benefits, beginning in the mid-1980s. Most was from Social Security, but the state social services agency paid $53,000.

Costello pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and Social Security fraud. Her son, Pete, 26, pleaded guilty earlier this month. Federal prosecutors in Seattle said Monday authorities had not yet located her daughter, Marie.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement

According to the plea agreement, Costello began coaching her daughter at age 4, and later used the same ruse with her son. He feigned retardation into his mid-20s — picking at his face, slouching and appearing uncommunicative in meetings with Social Security officials.

Social Security workers became suspicious and uncovered a video of Pete Costello ably contesting a traffic ticket in a Vancouver courtroom.

Pete Costello is scheduled to be sentenced May 11 and faces from six months to a year in prison, as well as $59,000 in restitution.

Rosie Costello is scheduled for sentencing May 17. Her standard sentencing range was not immediately available, but in the plea agreement she agreed to repay the government.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rate this story LowHigh
 • View Top Rated stories

Sponsored links

Resource guide

Search Jobs

Find your next car

Find Your Dream Home

Find a business to start

$7 trades, no fee IRAs