Connecticut Man Sentenced After Receiving $90,000 of Deceased Mother's Social Security

 David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PAUL WIEGMAN, 56, of Norwalk, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to six months of imprisonment for illegally receiving his mother’s Social Security benefits after her death.  WIEGMAN also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release, the first six months of which he must spend in home confinement under electronic monitoring, and to pay restitution in the amount of $90,188.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2002, WIEGMAN’s mother, who had been receiving Social Security Retirement Insurance Benefit and Widow’s Benefit payments, died in her residence. WIEGMAN, who lived with his mother, did not notify any authorities about his mother’s death.  From December 2002 until April 2010, WIEGMAN received and used a total of $90,188 in Social Security benefit payments that had been deposited into his mother’s bank account.

WIEGMAN also made several false statements to Social Security Administration officials investigating this matter, including that his mother was still alive but was unable to speak, and that she was alive and living with a family friend.

On July 20, 2012, WIEGMAN pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property.

On December 5, 2012, WIEGMAN’s brother, Gary Wiegman, 55, was sentenced to six months of probation for making false statements to federal agents.  On May 17, 2010, during an interview with special agents who were investigating PAUL WIEGMAN’s theft of Social Security benefits, Gary Wiegman told the agents that his mother was alive when he knew that she was dead.  On September 7, 2012, Gary Wiegman pleaded guilty to one count of being an accessory after the fact to theft of government property.

This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Felice Duffy.