Somerset County Man Admits Stealing more than $600,000 in Federal Benefits Meant for His Deceased Father

TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man today admitted stealing more than $600,000 in federal benefits that were intended for his deceased father, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Steven Jones, 66, of Somerset, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court today to an information charging him with conversion of federal funds. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Steven Jones’ father received several federal retirement benefits before he died in October 2004. After Jones’s father died, Jones intentionally falsified his father’s death certificate so that the federal agencies would continue to issue the retirement benefits. On two occasions, Jones had a person impersonate his father to a federal agency so that the agency would think his father was still alive and continue payments. The investigation revealed that Jones unlawfully collected these payments for nearly 20 years, from October 2004 to December 2023.

The charge of conversion of government funds carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 21, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration Office, of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Y. Zuckier of the OCDETF Unit in Newark.