Elderly Man Steals $350,634 From Deceased Mother’s Account for 17 Years, Faces Decades in Prison

A Pennsylvania man faces up to 20 years in prison after draining more than $350,000 worth of government benefits sent to his deceased mother.

Prosecutors say that Richard Burke, 76, withdrew money from his deceased mother’s bank account between April 2005 and March 2022, taking cash that was distributed through her Social Security Retirement, Survivors and Disability (RSDI) benefits and Veterans Affairs death pension benefit payments.

Burke’s mother died in 2005 and was the sole person entitled to those benefits. Burke didn’t notify the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that she had passed away and instead continued to make cash withdrawals, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Burke was charged in August and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court last week. He faces up to two decades in prison and a fine. His case was investigated by the SSA and the VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), and his sentencing is not yet scheduled.

Earlier this month, a mother-and-son duo was arrested on allegations of running a Covid-fraud scheme targeting the California Employment Development Department (EDD).

In a statement from U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, 49-year-old Yolanda Butler was arrested in Oklahoma, while her son, 28-year-old Legerrius Holt, was arrested in Colorado.

A third defendant, 33-year-old Quamaine Massey, was also arrested in Ohio.

All three defendants were charged with mail fraud, while Butler and Holt were additionally charged with aggravated identity theft.

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