A Chatham New Jersey man was arrested after being accused of stealing more than $80,000 from his son.
The 78-year-old suspect, who is a retired surgeon, faces federal wire fraud charges for allegedly defrauded the U.S. government over a number of years.
According to federal prosecutors, the suspect lied to the Social Security Administration and claimed that he needed monthly payments to cover his disabled child’s care. However, the suspect’s son was actually living with his maternal grandparents in Ukraine, not with the suspect in New Jersey.
The suspect allegedly received monthly payments from the government in amounts between $606 and $1,069.
Worse yet, prosecutors allege that the suspect did not send any of the funds or offer any financial assistance to the boy’s grandparents in Ukraine.
The suspect’s son became disabled after suffering a permanent brain injury in a car crash in 2004. The boy, who was just 1 year old at the time, was also partially paralyzed in both his upper and lower extremities as a result of the crash.
Additionally, the car accident caused the death of the boy’s mother.
The alleged fraud was uncovered by the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, located in New York City.
Now the suspect will have to appear in U.S. District Court in Newark NJ to answer the charges against him.
If the suspect is convicted on the charges, he would be subject to a penalty of up to 30 years in federal prison.
For additional information about this case, go to the NJ.com article entitled “N.J. Father Arrested on Charges of Stealing $80,000 in Benefits from Disabled Son.”