Webster Man Sentenced For Government Theft

BOSTON – A Worcester man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for stealing more than $230,000 in government benefits.

David Brunell, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to three years of supervised release, with the first 60 days to be spent in a residential re-entry center, followed by three months of home confinement, and ordered to pay $234,177 in restitution. Brunell pleaded guilty in September 2018 to one count of theft of government money.

Between June 2000 and June 2017, the Social Security Administration deposited approximately $234,000 in retirement benefits intended for Brunell’s father into a bank account controlled by Brunell after Brunell’s father had died. Brunell used the funds for various personal expenditures, such as mortgage payments.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Scott Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.