Does making the effort to save money really count if that money is stolen? (Objectively speaking, no.) Last January, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office published a press release that detailed how a young man is in trouble with the law after he “inherited” an illegal 72 year old Social Security account owned by his deceased father.
But why is he in trouble? The father lived a double life for nearly 30 years, leading up to his death, “as part of a fraudulent scheme he planned for decades to provide for his son.” He spent daylight hours using his real name and working as a welder at the Philadelphia Naval Base. But at nightfall, he assumed the name “Frank DiCarlo” and worked a second job at a fencing company. It was through that second name and job that he fraudulently applied for, and began accruing Social Security payments, which he continued to receive, illegally, even after his death. (That’s, right, folks. This guy’s retirement/life insurance/savings plan consisted of stealing and stockpiling decades’ worth of Social Security checks.)
But the occurrence of the real Frank DiCarlo’s 100th birthday prompted the Social Security Administration’s routine outreach to beneficiaries of that age. The agency’s inability to locate “Frank DiCarlo” triggered investigators to trace back decades worth of payments, a road that, eventually, ended with the son. He subsequently pleaded guilty to second-degree theft of property lost, mislaid or delivered under mistake and was sentenced to three years in prison. He also signed a civil consent judgment that requires him to pay back the Social Security Administration almost a quarter of a million dollars in restitution.
So can this tactic actually work, in terms of funding a post-retirement life-of-leisure? (You bet it can.) To put it into perspective, the son collected $243,844 over a 29 year period, from the date of his father’s death in 1984, until he finally was caught in August of 2013. It’s possible that the father stole a million dollars from the government over the course of the entire scam.
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