According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a Wisconsin man who fraudulently collected $175,000 in Social Security benefits by faking blindness was sentenced to a year in federal prison.
Earlier this month, Lawrence Popp was sentenced to fraud charges after he claimed he was blind and could not work, drive or read without assistance. According to prosecutors, he was collecting government benefits including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) while driving a car, snowmobile and jet ski. Officials recorded Popp performing these acts, despite the fact that he claimed that he was disabled.
“The lies are just one after another,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Giampietro, who recommended two years in prison for Popp, said in court, according to the Journal Sentinel. “This is a cynical abuse of a program truly geared to those who need assistance.”
Popp was reportedly declared legally blind in 2004 following an illness, but he continued to work, running several companies, while receiving benefits. According to court documents, Popp collected $175,000 in disability payments, as well as $115,000 in Medicare benefits between 2004 and 2009.
Do You Need a Tulsa Social Security Disability Attorney?
This case, along with the news coming out of New York about former police and firefighters who were indicted in a massive SSDI scam, should serve as a reminder that fraud is unacceptable. It can result in significant fines, the liquidation and seizure of assets, as well as jail or prison time.
If you have questions about an application for disability benefits, do not hesitate to contact our Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyers for a free evaluation of your case.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability attorneys
