Husband & Wife Sentenced for Theft of Deceased Father’s Social Security Benefits

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas couple was sentenced to prison for illegally taking proceeds from a relative’s Social Security and retirement benefits for years after his death. 

According to court documents, Lynn Ritter, 62, and Kirk Ritter, 62, of Overland Park pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft of government funds. A federal judge sentenced Lynn Ritter to 12 months and one day in prison. Kirk Ritter was sentenced to seven months in prison.

The couple lived with Lynn’s father in a single-family house in Overland Park with Lynn acting as his caretaker. On October 23, 2022, Kirk Ritter contacted the Overland Park Police Department. He advised that his father-in-law was deceased, and his body was in the residence. Officers found the body lying in a bed, in a mummified state.  It was later determined the man died on or about July 1, 2016.

The father had been receiving monthly Social Security and retirement pension payments as direct deposits to his bank account. After July 2016, $68,637 in pension payments and $147,429 in Social Security payments were deposited into the bank account. Lynn and Kirk Ritter did not report the death, and instead without authority, wrote checks on the deceased’s account and transferred funds into their bank accounts to use for their own personal benefit. The Ritters paid the funds back during their prosecution.

Mark Underwood, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Kansas City Regional Office said, “These sentencings show the Labor Department is committed to ensuring that justice is served for those who steal from retirement plans.”

The Overland Park Police Department, Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jabari Wamble prosecuted the case.