Former Florence Resident Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds and Identity Theft

Contact Person: Bill Day (803) 929-3000

Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Don Carlos Gibson, Jr., age 48, of Church Hill, Tennessee and formally of Florence, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Florence for Theft of Government Funds, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, and  Identity Theft, a violation of 18 U.S.C § 1028A(a)(1).  United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence sentenced Gibson to seven years imprisonment to be followed by three years of Supervised Release and also ordered Gibson to pay $811,592.07 in restitution.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing and sentencing established that Gibson collected disability payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) from 1997 to 2013 by falsely claiming he was unable to work. During the time Gibson claimed to be disabled, he attended golfing school in Myrtle Beach and was the general manager of a country club in North Carolina, a car salesman in North and South Carolina, and the pastor of a church in South Carolina and Oklahoma. Gibson's fraud caused losses of $352,576 to the VA and of $407,184 to the SSA. Gibson also caused losses of $51,832 to an individual he defrauded while working as a pastor in Oklahoma. Gibson also used another person’s identity to purchase automobiles and boats and to obtain loans in South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida.

The case was investigated by agents of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Department of Veterans Affairs and OIG Social Security Administration.  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.

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