A Florida woman has been charged with storing a dead man’s body in a trash can in order to collect his Social Security benefits.

Michelle Haney, 49, of Bradenton, was arrested and charged Wednesday with abuse of a dead body in connection with the death of 40-year-old Jon Christopher Leonard.

"It's a sad day when you treat someone like a piece of trash when he deserved a proper burial and deserved to have his family with him to mourn," Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said, Fox 13 Tampa reported.

Mugshot for Michelle Haney, 49, of Bradenton, Florida. (Manatee County Sheriff's Office )

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Haney said she found Leonard dead in her home in July, apparently of natural causes, but deputies say she never contacted authorities, the station reported.

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An arrest affidavit says that weeks after the death, Haney retrieved the body from a closet and stuffed it into a trash can, which she then dropped off at a neighbor's when she moved out.

The neighbor called deputies Monday when he began emptying the trash can and found Leonard’s body, the affidavit says.

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It says Haney admitted cashing Leonard’s $1,200 in monthly Social Security benefits since his death.

A judge ordered Haney held on $50,000 bond during a court appearance Thursday.