There was a woman on 60 Minutes a few years ago who had done the same thing, collected her dead mother's benefits for about 30 years until caught. Her excuse is she thought she inherited them and they were hers. She played the victim card, the black card, etc. and could not understand why she was going to jail.
Today this can't really happen. As soon as any SS beneficiary dies their name is put on the SS Master Death Index and all benefits are stopped and all credit cards are canceled.
Now, if one were to bury the deceased in the backyard... and not notify the authorities. 🤨🙄☠️🤫