Man felt ‘entitled’ to mom’s benefits after she died — and stole thousands, feds say

A Montana man stole thousands in Social Security benefits meant for his mother who died— and hid his true income and assets to collect $60,627 in extra benefits he wasn’t supposed to receive, according to federal prosecutors.

After the Social Security Administration discovered his mother died in March 2017, prosecutors said the man was interviewed by special agents.

He told them he took her payments, which he used for personal expenses, because he felt “entitled” to her money, prosecutors said.

He stole $59,535 in benefits issued in her name from March 2017 to November 2021 — and $120,162 in total from the SSA, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.

The man, 64, of Elmo, was sentenced Sept. 24 to three years in prison on charges of theft of government money and Social Security fraud , prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May.

He must pay $95,722 in restitution as part of his sentencing, according to officials.

The man’s federal public defender, Michael Donahoe, didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Sept. 25.

In court documents, Donahoe wrote ahead of sentencing that the man “acknowledges that his convictions are serious and takes full responsibility for his actions.”

The theft of SSA benefits stems from 2015, when the man began receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits issued by the agency — as he underreported his income and assets, prosecutors said.

He also never mentioned to the SSA that he owned a property in Florida with his mother and profited off of the property’s sale in June 2017, according to prosecutors.

The year before, the man reported to the SSA that he moved to Elmo, lived by himself and paid rent to his landlord, who he was dating, prosecutors said.

However, he didn’t pay his landlord rent, according to prosecutors.

In 2017, when he started collecting his mother’s benefits, the man and his partner had his partner’s home converted into a dog grooming business and earned extra income, prosecutors said.

The man never reported the profits from the business, or how he had three cars and several bank accounts, to the SSA, according to prosecutors.

The agency learned he was ineligible for SSI benefits he received — in addition to the theft of his mother’s benefits, prosecutors said.

“SSI benefits and SSA payments are designed to help those truly in need and those that have earned or qualify for payments from the government,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. “There are limited federal funds allocated to these programs and their sustainability is dependent upon accurate representations by deserving recipients.”

“(He) lied for several years to defraud and steal from these important federal assistance systems,” court documents say.

Elmo is about a 200-mile drive northwest from Helena.

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