Mililani Man Sentenced To 20 Months In Prison For Social Security Fraud

HONOLULU – Gregory Scher, 66, of Mililani, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday to 20 months of imprisonment for defrauding the Social Security Administration.  As part of his sentence, Scher was also ordered to pay $26,298.12 in restitution and a $100 assessment, and to serve 3 years of supervised release.  

U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenji M. Price announced that, according to court documents and information presented in court, Scher admitted that he failed to disclose material information about his income and work, and lied about being legally blind, in order to receive and maintain Social Security Disability Insurance benefit payments.  Scher also failed to disclose his employment while receiving Social Security Retirement Insurance benefits, and converted Social Security Child’s Insurance benefits intended for his minor daughter to his own personal use.  Many of Scher’s lies and omissions occurred while he was on pretrial or supervised release for his federal Passport Fraud conviction.              

At Scher’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway remarked that her sentence sends a “strong and clear message” that Scher’s “extensive networks of untruths and wrongful actions” must stop.  She told Scher that she observed a “pervasive attitude that you could do whatever actions to get whatever benefits you wanted.”

The case was investigated by the Special Agent Robert Rodriguez with Office of Investigations - Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren W.K. Ching and Sara Ayabe.