Woman used fake Cuban marriage license to get dead man's Social Security benefits, cops say

A Miami Gardens woman was arrested after authorities said she used a fake Cuban marriage license to get tens of thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits for a dead man.

Marilyn P. Mato, 62, was arrested Thursday on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, an arrest report said.

According to the report, Mato, who was born in Cuba but is a U.S. citizen, presented the Cuban marriage certificate to U.S. Social Security Administration to obtain the benefits.

The U.S. Department of State later sent a request to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs to authenticate the marriage certificate, and the Cubans said the certificate didn’t match their official records and was fraudulent, the report said.

Based on the fraudulent license, Mato received $73,627 in Social Security benefits from April 2022 to January 2026, the report said.

Mato was booked into jail and appeared before a judge on Friday who set her bond at $7,500.