Jefferson Co. man sentenced for stealing Social Security benefits for 27 yrs.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A federal judge has sentenced a Jefferson County man to six months in prison for stealing more than $100,000 in Social Security benefits over a 27 year period.

Prosecutors said, Charles Allen Mize, 68, stole government benefits for nearly three decades after his mother died on Oct. 15,1981.

Mize pleaded guilty in July, and U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson sentenced him on Monday.

Besides prison time, the judge also ordered Mize to serve four months of home detention and three years on probation.

He was ordered to pay restitution of $106,914 and to forfeit another $18,412.

Authorities said the thefts began in November 1981 after the death of Eloise Mize and continued through March 2008.