Beebe Man Sentenced to Two and a Half Years in Prison for Defrauding Social Security Administration

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas:

LITTLE ROCK—A Beebe man was sentenced for collecting more than $20,000 in Social Security Disability payments when he was not actually disabled. Ryan Kinsey, 35, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison yesterday by United States District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky. A federal jury convicted Kinsey of Social Security fraud and making materially false statements following trial in July 2021.

In 2013, Kinsey began receiving Social Security benefits because he claimed to be disabled. He cited bipolar disorder, heart issues, post-traumatic stress disorder, and knee issues as the reasons for his disability. However, following trial, a jury found that while collecting these disability payments, Kinsey was also working full time by operating his family farm operation after his father passed away in 2017. His work on the farm involved buying horses at auction, caring for and selling the horses, farm maintenance, and marketing the business. At trial, the United States called numerous witnesses who all testified that during the time periods alleged they had either bought horses or hay from Kinsey or had Kinsey transport livestock. In the 15 months prior to indictment, Kinsey received more than $100,000 in payments for his ranching activities. During that same time period, he fraudulently received more than $20,000 from SSA.

Social Security determined that Kinsey was initially entitled to disability payments but should have stopped receiving them in 2017 when he began working. From that time until his payments were terminated in 2019, Kinsey received a total of $20,530 in Social Security payments, which Judge Rudofsky ordered him to pay in restitution. Kinsey was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Bart Dickinson prosecuted the case for the United States.