Oak Park Woman Denies Fraud in Disability Case

A 32-year-old Oak Park woman has pleaded not guilty to charges that she fraudulently collected $20,000 in state disability and unemployment benefits while holding a job.

Alexa Briana Reeves is accused of filing three separate disability claims in 1998 and between 2001 and 2003, said prosecutor Marc Leventhal. For each claim she was paid benefits based upon her statement that she was not working and was unable to work, he said.

Reeves presented certification forms bearing the signatures of four doctors when she submitted her claims.

It was later found that she had never been treated by the doctors and that their signatures had been forged, Leventhal said.

Reeves was charged with five felony counts of fraud. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.