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NY man charged with impersonating his deceased mother to steal govn’t benefits

Posted on Jun 30, 2009

A 49 year old man has been charged with impersonating his deceased mother, who died in 2003, in order to keep getting her Social Security benefits, and also falsifying his own claims to receive disability benefits. The man, Thomas Parkin, collected $117,000 in government benefits since his mother’s death.

Parkin has pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny, criminal impersonation, and other charges. He and an accomplice, Mhilton Rimolo, are being held on $1 million bail.

The scheme was uncovered when Parkin showed up at a the Brooklyn Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) dressed as his deceased mother Irene Prusik. Prusik died at the age of 73. Upon her death, Parkin falsified her death certificate and proceeded to collect $52,000 in $700 a month Social Security checks over 6 years.

Parkin managed to get another $65,000 in benefits by claiming he had a disability and was living with his mother, who was his landlord. He even contested the foreclosure of his mother’s home in 2003 after she died, challenging the sale on claims that his mother was not dead.

Authorities stated that the deception was “unparalleled in its scope and brazenness”. No word yet on whether or not Parkin will have to repay the money he stole from the government.