Waterbury Man Who Stole Social Security Benefits is Sentenced

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ZIMER KALICI, 56, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to two years of probation, the first three months of which Kalici must serve in home confinement, for theft of Social Security benefits.

According to court documents and statements made in court, individuals are not eligible for Social Security benefits when they permanently relocate to live outside of the U.S., and eligibility for Social Security benefits terminates upon death.  An investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (“SSA OIG”) revealed that Kalici’s father, a Social Security benefits recipient, relocated from the U.S. to Macedonia in 2009, and died in January 2010.  Kalici did not report his father’s death to the Social Security Administration and, between 2009 and 2018, deposited approximately $52,417.84 worth of Social Security checks intended for his father into his own personal bank account.

In November 2018, during an interview with SSA OIG investigators, Kalici stated that his father was still alive and had left the U.S. for Macedonia in May 2018.  Kalici subsequently provided SSA OIG with a false funeral internment certificate that represented his father had died on November 26, 2018.

Judge Meyer ordered Kalici to pay full restitution.

On September 23, 2019, Kalici pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money.

Kalici also must perform 250 hours of community service while on probation.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Donovan.