Social Security and Income Fraud

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal Income supplement program funded by general tax revenues designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income. The program provides cash for qualified vulnerable individuals who need food, clothing, and shelter. Paul...

Typically known for its production of cheese and the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin is also home to fraudster John P. Fischer. (I’m sure that Wisconsin wishes it were not his home.) Fischer was recently sentenced after pleading guilty to Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) fraud. Fischer...

One would think that a former government employee would know better than to break the law. This wasn’t the case for Sean Okrzesik, 34, of Syracuse, N.Y., who recently pled guilty to charges of theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. The Syracuse resident...

Jenna Nichole Castaneda, 30, of Twin Falls, Idaho hit the government benefits jackpot when she knowingly lied about her husband’s income to the Social Security Administration (SSA). She didn’t do it just one time. It happened on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2018. As a...

One of the many responsibilities of being a parent includes being a protector. A lot of effort is put forth to warn children of strangers, but what happens when it’s the parent that is the problem? Melissa D. Wasylak, 49, of East Alton, Ill.,...

Fraudsters are brazen. They don’t mind throwing their weight around to get what they want. A Saint Pauls, N.C., woman used her job as an operations supervisor at the Fayetteville offices of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to steal $760,966 in Supplemental Security Income...

Death is hard for loved ones left behind. The grief experienced after someone we love departs this world can cause us to be depressed and stressed. It’s quite possible you will experience those same feelings once you read about today’s fraudster. Nancy Shedleski, 69, of...

Being disabled makes it very difficult to hold a job and earn a paycheck. That’s where Social Security disability insurance comes in to save the day. This government program provides benefits to disabled workers when they can no longer work due to their disability....

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In 2020, the Insurance Information Institute noted that approximately 1,660 Puerto Ricans alone had their identity stolen. (In one year, mind you.) One of those...

Sir Walter Scott once said, “Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive.” (How right he was.) Jane B. Smith, 65, of Hudson, N.Y., can attest to that after pleading guilty to attempted wire fraud and making false statements...