George William Doumar’s Oregon mailbox business came in handy, once he decided to fraudulently cash in on his aunt’s Social Security benefits. In the late 1980s, he changed his aunt’s address from New York to Klamath Falls, with her benefit checks coming to his business address. That wasn’t so terribly suspicious, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) began to investigate the account in 2020, because the woman would have been 114 years old. (Just how long did he think this gravy train could keep rolling?)
The SSA interviewed two of the women’s nieces, who recalled attending her funeral decades before, and told investigators that Doumar was the beneficiary of the aunt’s insurance policy. (I bet that tidbit made for awkward family functions after that revelation.)
The SSA then determined that Doumar was also a Social Security beneficiary and received his checks at the same address as his aunt. (What a coincidence!) Finally, the investigators located the aunt’s 1971 New York City death certificate. (Did he not think that he would eventually be discovered? He probably didn’t have a plan “B”.)
The Social Security scheme lasted nearly 43 years, during which time Doumar stole nearly $459K from SSA in his aunt’s name. He nabbed another $1,200 from the IRS for his aunt’s COVID stimulus payment. (What’s another grand?)
Doumar pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and offered to sell his home to help pay the $460,192 restitution. (Here’s hoping he has a heck of a nice house! The median sales price in Klamath Falls was only $235K in April 2021.)
Doumar’s fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but federal prosecutors are seeking a more lenient sentence of 10-16 months, according to the plea agreement. (Okay, but what about tacking on a little something-something to account for the interest the Social Security Trust Fund should have accrued on all that stolen money over four-plus decades?)
Today’s Fraud of the Day comes from a Mail Tribune article, “Klamath Falls man admits to $458,000 Social Security fraud,” updated May 5, 2021.
A man who owned a Klamath Falls mailbox business for decades has admitted to Social Security fraud that lasted nearly 43 years.
George William Doumar, 76, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Medford to a charge of theft of government funds, admitting he stole $458,992 from the Social Security Administration in the name of a New York aunt who died in 1971, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office, plus a $1,200 stimulus check from the Internal Revenue Service.
