Jamare Mason, of Georgia, recently participated in a Social Security fraud scheme in Miami, Fla., where he worked with co-conspirators to steal the personal information of disabled veterans and Social Security Administration (SSA) beneficiaries. (These opportunistic fraudsters really were shameless when it came to choosing their victims.)
Mason, 47, and his cronies then used that information to open up bank accounts and obtain pre-paid debit cards, which they controlled. (And it only gets worse from here.) The team also forged documents in the victims’ names that enabled them to have the payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs and SSA deposited into those fraudulent bank accounts, thereby robbing the veterans and other beneficiaries of their money.
The crooks withdrew the funds from ATMs and banks throughout Florida and Georgia, much of which was funneled to additional fraudsters in Jamaica. Over the course of five years, they attempted to redirect more than $1.8 million in benefits. And while many of the attempts were unsuccessful, the fraudsters still made away with over $1 million. (The good news is that the federal government fully reimbursed the victims for the lost benefits.)
Mason pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud. He was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, which will be followed by five years of supervised release. He also had to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution to his victims. (Rightfully so.)
Today’s Fraud of the Day comes from a Department of Justice press release, “Defendant Who Stole Veteran and Social Security Benefits Sentenced to Federal Prison,” dated January 19, 2022.
MIAMI, FL.—A Georgia man pleaded guilty for conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud, targeting disabled veterans and Social Security Association (SSA) beneficiaries.
Jamare Mason, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud.
