Family member was convicted of fraud for stealing from VA and SSA. Now they want me to pay back the stipend I received throughout college. I’ve appealed but received no word back, I’ve tried calling but no one answers. Am I really obligated to pay this because I was clueless while he broke the law?

Location: Pennsylvania

I live in Pennsylvania, although this family member was convicted in Maryland. I don’t have a good relationship with this person. Soon after my freshman year of college, I stopped even visiting or calling. I was unaware he was stealing benefits while I was in college. Without this person, I wouldn’t have even known about the benefits. I signed up for the program right before my freshman year started and used it for all 4 years. (Money is money, and it did help a lot- despite how much I hate them). Time passes, I graduate, and eventually, he is convicted of fraud. Now, VA and SSA want me to pay them back? Am I obligated to pay this debt? I had no idea he was committing fraud in the first place!

I received a letter stating they’d been trying to reach me and received no response, and now they want their money within the month, or they will start taking action. I have lived at the same address for over a year now, and I am diligent with updating my address and checking my mail. I received absolutely zero attempts to notify me about this before this month. I started an appeal online, but I don’t know how long that will take. Haven’t heard anything yet. I’ve tried calling the number on the letter, but the operating system just tells me to wait in line for over 110- 130 minutes repeatedly. What do I even do at this point? The month is basically over already. How did they expect me to pay this with only weeks of notification? What steps should I take?