A former Cody resident must serve nearly two years in federal prison and repay over $86,000 that prosecutors say she wrongly took from the Social Security program.

Cassandra L. Corbin received the 21-month prison sentence last week for a felony count of theft of government services.

Two of Corbin’s children were taken away from her in late 2020, but charging documents say she continued to receive federal benefits for the kids for another 2 1/2 years. Though Corbin was supposed to be spending the money on her children’s needs, investigators concluded the 36-year-old spent most of the money on herself.

U.S. Chief District Judge Kelly Rankin ordered Corbin to pay $86,170 in restitution — the full amount she received after her children were taken into protective custody.

Premature death

The benefits at the center of the case stemmed from the July 2015 death of Corbin’s then-husband, Michael Ostby of Cody.

Ostby died by suicide at the age of 28, while he was being held at the Yellowstone County Detention Center in Billings.

Corbin and other family members later filed a wrongful death suit against the detention facility and staff, contending they should have done more to prevent Ostby’s death. According to the Billings Gazette, the family received a $156,000 settlement from Yellowstone County in 2020.

Separate from the suit, Ostby’s children became eligible for Social Security Survivor Insurance Benefits as a result of his death. Corbin started receiving monthly payments in 2015, with the condition that the money could only be spent on the children, charging documents say. Additionally, Corbin was supposed to notify the government if the kids ever left her custody.

Protective custody

Court records say Casper police took the children into protective custody in November 2020, after finding drugs and paraphernalia in Corbin’s home. Corbin, who was pregnant at the time, reportedly tested positive for opioids and meth.

Court records show Corbin ran into further legal trouble related to drug use in 2021 and 2022.

Despite not having the children in her custody, charging documents say Corbin continued receiving the monthly Social Security payments until May 2023, when another family member became the kids’ legal guardian.

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General received a tip and opened an investigation in March 2024. Special agents interviewed Corbin in Denver a few months later.

“... I thought that, since the state did take my children, that the state would probably see that I had Social Security,” she reportedly explained to the agents. “And so I thought it would have automatically been taken [away].”

Corbin admitted that she never notified state or federal authorities that she was still receiving payments, and “obviously I know I should have done that,” charging documents quote her as saying. However, Corbin said a family member told her not to worry about the payments as long as she was helping provide for the children in some way. 

Corbin said she sent the children money each month — an assertion disputed by a family member, the documents say — but reportedly admitted to using 60%-70% of the funds on her own personal living expenses, like rent and food.

Agents also quoted Corbin as saying that, “although she used drugs, she did not use the money that was intended for the children on drugs.”

Prison time and probation

After a roughly year-long investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming charged Corbin in April. She was taken into federal custody in Colorado in May and has remained in custody since then.

In his Sept. 25 sentencing order, Judge Rankin recommended that Corbin serve her prison time at a facility close to Wyoming that offers substance abuse treatment and mental health care.

Once she completes her prison stint, Corbin will be placed on supervised release for three years.