DETROIT – A Detroit woman has admitted to stealing nearly $100,000 from a dead veteran, but it's how she got away with the crime for so long that's raising a lot of questions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs kept depositing cash into the dead veteran's bank account for seven years. Wilda Watkins plead guilty to taking that money.
Watkins admitted to a charge of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds. Cameras caught Watkins getting cash at various ATM's around Detroit.
Court records show that for seven years, from 2007 until 2014 she withdrew nearly $100,000. The ATM cards and account belonged to a deceased veteran.
Watkins' attorney, Steven E. Scharg, acknowledges the temptation was there and questions the VA's checks and balances.
"Seven years is a long time. That's a lot of money they were sending to a deceased person; you would think they would have caught on within a year," he said. "How would they have not known?"
The VA did catch on though and Local 4 tried helping them find the unknown woman.
WATCH: Woman wanted for ripping off veteran, stealing nearly $100K
"She thought the government was looking for her and she knew what she did was wrong and she wanted to confront the situation," Scharg said.
Watkins faced five years in prison for the fraud but she walked out of the federal courthouse with probation.
"I think they knew she wasn't the mastermind," Scharg said.
Records reveal the man's girlfriend gave Watkins all his banking information and for seven years they split the deposits.
"You would think that the government would be more in tune as to what was transpiring with this account," Scharg said.
Local 4 reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs in D.C. about the case. The VA said it's up to families to inform the proper agency death. In this case the veteran did not have any immediate family so it just took time for records to catch up.
Veteran death notification checklist: