Monroe Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Social Security Fraud

Contact: F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Gary D. Hallett, 47, of Monroe, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for fraudulently obtaining social security disability benefits.  Hallett was also ordered to pay $67,753 in restitution.  He pleaded guilty to the charge on May 12, 2015.

Court records show that the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) paid disability benefits to Hallett from 2004 until 2014.  In 2012, the Bangor Daily News reported that the defendant had been charged with an elver fishing violation.  The article indicated that Hallett’s attorney in the state matter had asked the Maine court to delay the trial of the violation because the defendant had the opportunity to make $200,000 in the upcoming elver season. That story led to an investigation by the SSA Office of Inspector General that revealed that Hallett had been working and earning income since 1999 which he had not reported to the SSA as required. As a result, the SSA paid $67,753 in benefits to Hallett to which he was not entitled.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Woodcock said:  “I consider your conduct to be deplorable …. The Social Security program is a reflection of the good faith of the American people…. You have been cheating your fellow citizens.”

The investigation was conducted by the SSA Office of Inspector General.