Livermore Falls Man Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining Needs-Based Benefits

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maine

PORTLAND Maine: A Livermore Falls man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for Social Security fraud, health care fraud, and theft of public money.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Rick V. Greene, 56, to five years of probation, and he was ordered to pay $34,119 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and $37,944.34 in restitution to the Maine Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). Greene pleaded guilty on June 20, 2023.

According to court records, from about January 2017 through December 2020, Greene concealed self-employed work activity, as well as various assets, from SSA to appear eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. SSI benefits are paid to people with limited income who are blind, disabled or elderly. Greene also concealed his work activity and assets from the Maine DHHS to appear eligible to receive MaineCare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which are also needs-based programs.

In multiple benefit eligibility reviews, Greene falsely represented to the SSA and Maine DHHS that his only income was from SSI. He did not disclose his income and assets despite knowing that he was required to do so and that they would affect his eligibility to receive benefits.

This investigation was conducted by SSA’s Office of the Inspector General and the Maine DHHS’s Fraud Investigation & Recovery Unit.