Fraudsters are lazy. They’ll scheme and con their way to riches by taking the easiest path available no matter how many people they run over in the process. A Department of Justice press release tells about a fairly young man who travelled along a deceptive path and stole tens of thousands of dollars from the Social Security Administration (SSA) by claiming he was disabled.
The story details that the young man applied for disability benefits, but at the same time returned to work full-time for a construction company. When the checks started rolling in on a monthly basis, he did not report the extra income to the SSA. Three years passed, and when questioned by investigators, he told them he had not worked for five years. (This was obviously a lie.) Seven more months passed and he admitted to SSA investigators that he had not been truthful about his work activities. (I guess either the guilt or the evidence stacked against him finally got to him.)
The government alleged that the fraudster illegally received more than $71,000 in disability benefits that he did not deserve. The 34-year-old man pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud and is facing a maximum of five years in prison.
Unfortunately, the fraudster in this case didn’t think about the people he victimized along the way – citizens who depend on Social Security to meet their daily needs. (This con man probably thought he was pretty smart for getting money from the government without having to work for it.) Fortunately, the government showed up with a demolition crew and deconstructed his scheme.
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