Philadelphia Man Sentenced Year in Prison For Theft of Government Funds

Kenneth Duffy, 64, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison today, announced Acting United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen. In 2016, the defendant pled guilty to one count of theft of government funds, for stealing Social Security benefits intended for his deceased mother for nearly 20 years. After defendant Duffy’s mother died in January 1997, he continued to take her retirement benefits until his fraud was discovered in the summer of 2016. During that time, he kept his deceased mother’s name on the bank account where the funds were deposited, and continued to pay bills in his deceased mother’s name. When contacted by the Social Security Administration, which was trying to verify whether or not the decedent was alive and receiving her benefits, the defendant lied, stating that his mother was alive and living with his sister, in an effort to mislead the agency.

In addition to the prison sentence, the Honorable Harvey Bartle III ordered full restitution to the Social Security Administration of $235,995, and three years of supervised release upon completion of the prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.