Feds: Daughter cashed dead father’s NFL pension

DETROIT (AP) — The daughter of a former Chicago Bears player from the 1950s is accused of illegally collecting money from an NFL pension plan years after her father’s death.

Constance Helwig-Langlois (HEL’-wig LANG’-loy) was charged Wednesday with fraud in Detroit. She’s the daughter of John Helwig, who played defense for the Bears.

Federal prosecutors say the NFL retirement plan kept sending checks to John Helwig’s Detroit-area address after his 1994 death.

Court documents allege that Helwig’s wife, Ruth, twice told officials that her husband still was alive. Ruth Helwig died in 2007.

The government says their daughter kept the scheme going until 2011, and that the erroneous payments added up to more than $200,000 over 17 years.

No one answered at a phone number listed for the daughter on Wednesday.