Man dressed as dead mother to receive Social Security benefits
Filed under: Real Estate, Fraud, Recession, Identity Theft, Video
The Brooklyn, N.Y., district attorney announced the Monday arrest of 49-year-old Thomas Parkin for dressing as his dead mother to collect Social Security benefits, according to a New York Daily News story.
Parkin was charged with forgery, grand larceny, conspiracy, criminal impersonation and perjury. Sound shocking? Wait until you hear the rest.
Thomas' mother, Irene Prusik, left her Brooklyn home for him to inherit. When she passed away in 2003, Thomas took out a $200,000 mortgage. He later found out, perhaps due to the recession, that he could not afford it and stopped making mortgage payments.
The home eventually went into foreclosure and was bought in 2003. To avoid eviction, Parkin decided to take on the identity of his dead mother to afford the apartment and pay for his real estate venture.
The reincarnated "Ms. Prusik" was complete with sunglasses, nail polish, wig, and old fashioned clothing. The scam continued for six years as the government offices supplied Parkin with his requested funds. He created a fake ID and even hired a nephew to assist him, or her, at the bank.
Here's bank video of the pair:
Parkin acquired more than $100,000 in Social Security benefits of $700 monthly installments, and rent subsidies. He even filed for bankruptcy to obtain more than $40,000 in subsidies to pay for the Park Slope, Brooklyn apartment.By now you are probably wondering how he got away with this in the first place.
When the mother died, Parkin provided the funeral home with an incorrect Social Security number and date of birth. This means that he had it all planned out from the beginning.
It's amazing how people are willing to go above and beyond to survive this recession. Or could it just be the usual greed factor that kicks in during any economic condition?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2009 @ 10:19PM
Elijah said...
You have got to be kidding if you think this is because of the recession or anything new. As a police officer for over 30 years, this is one of the crimes aganst or using the elderly and the dead, that has been going on for years. Even before the internet the death notices in the papers were routinely used as a source of identity theft, with welfare, SSN and other government offices at State and Local and Federal levels continuously cut in budget for investigators.
Relatives and elderaly relatives are the biggest offenders, especially if they have never worked or have drug and alcohol abuse problems. Nobody ever said a addict is moral or stupid. THis guy is just like millions of other generational villians, who know the system or figure he's an entrapenuer for living off the largess of the government. I bet he said he couldnt afford healthcare also, so that he went to the emergency room for ills, so Medicaid would pay huh?
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6-19-2009 @ 11:47PM
CHATROPOLIS said...
Absolutely great! With how hard the Government makes it to collect benefits and how Obama it following Bushy on wrecking the economy I only wish they guy would have taken the 200K and run. His mom would be proud. Don't worry you'll get a crash course in scamming in prison and come out with your masters degree. It's a win win for you.
MJL
chatropolis.com
Loving it when the little guy screws the man.
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