A California man pleaded responsible this week to hiding his mom’s loss of life from the federal government for over 30 years and accumulating greater than $830,000 in Social Security advantages earmarked for her.
Defendant Donald Zampach’s mom died in Japan in 1990 and was accumulating a widow’s pension from the Social Security Administration in addition to an annuity from the Department of Defense’s Finance Accounting Service on the time of her loss of life.
Shortly beforehand, Zampach fraudulently transferred her dwelling in Poway, California, and filed for Chapter 7 chapter, disclosing neither his possession of the house nor profit funds.
After his mom’s loss of life, he started utilizing her id for private acquire. From November 1990 to September 2022, Zampach netted no less than $830,238 in cash meant for his mom.
Zampach filed solid tax returns in her title, solid her signature on eligibility paperwork to proceed receiving authorities advantages, maintained her financial institution accounts and used her title to open credit score accounts with no less than 9 different monetary establishments, costing them over $28,000.
Zampach laundered the stolen cash in order that he may repay the mortgage on the Poway dwelling as a part of his scheme to hide his possession of the house and that the cash used was the prison proceeds of fraud.
The scheme is considered the longest-running such fraud within the Southern District of California, the place the case was tried.
“This crime is believed to be the longest-running and largest fraud of its kind in this district. This defendant didn’t just passively collect checks mailed to his deceased mother. … when investigators caught up to him, he continued to claim she was still alive. As a result of this fraud, he received more than $800,000 in stolen public money,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Randy Grossman stated.
Under the phrases of his plea settlement Tuesday, Zampach pays over $830,000 in prison forfeiture, together with surrendering the Poway dwelling.
On the cost of cash laundering, Zampach, now 65, faces as much as 20 years in jail and a superb of as much as $500,000. On the cost of Social Security fraud, Zampach faces as much as 5 years in jail and a superb of as much as $250,000.
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