In late May, a federal court in North Carolina sentenced a 62-year-old man to six months in prison, followed by six months of home confinement and then three years of supervised release for his role in Social Security Disability benefits fraud. Additionally, the man must repay $49,751.88 to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) for the benefits he illegally obtained over the past ten years.
Carl Gene Swindell began receiving Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) benefits in July of 2001. He wrote on his application and renewal forms that he had never been married, though he did tell the SSA that he lived with a woman. Swindell and the woman have, in fact, been married since 1976. She likewise claimed never having been married, so that both could maximize their SSI benefits. Additional information on eligibility for SSI or other benefits is available from a Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyer.
Swindell’s wife passed away in the fall of 2009, and, within a month of her passing, Swindell went to the SSA office to obtain widower benefits on top of the SSI money that he was receiving. He submitted a copy of his marriage certificate to verify the fact that he had been married so that he could begin receiving widower benefits. This raised a red flag for investigators who eventually indicted Swindell and obtained a conviction against him. A Tulsa Social Security Disability attorney can help Social Security applicants with the processing of their applications.
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