Her mentally ill son was in prison.
Her daughter was battling drug addiction.
And her five grandchildren were in danger of being sent to foster care.
So Mary Alice Austin of Detroit, who said she needed money to raise the grandkids, paid someone to pose as her son so she could continue receiving his disability benefits, court records show.
During the 20 years her son was in prison, Austin, 67, received nearly $120,000 in Social Security benefits, records show. Now, she may be headed to prison after pleading guilty to the fraud. She is to be sentenced Friday.
U.S. census figures show nearly 88,000 grandparents in metro Detroit are living with their grandchildren -- 40% of those are the primary caregiver.
Often, grandparents step in when their own children are lost to drugs, crime or mental illness. Then they may fear losing their grandkids, too, experts said.
Austin's lawyer and grandchildren are pleading for mercy.
"My grandmother has been in my life since I was born. If she hadn't (been), no telling what would of happened to me or my siblings," one grandson wrote to the judge.
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