Son sentenced to 8 years behind bars for stealing dead mom’s $53K in retirement money
Authorities announced that a deceitful son has been convicted and will serve an eight-year prison term for unlawfully keeping a full year’s worth of his deceased mother’s Social Security funds.
According to Thomas DiNapoli, the state Comptroller, Charles Alton Bump, Jr., aged 62, obtained $53,000 assigned specifically for his mother, Elizabeth Dorothy Case, who used to reside in Jamaica, Queens.
Case, a former chief bookkeeper for the state of New York, had shifted her residence to Maryland two decades ago, aiming to reside with her son.
Nevertheless, a distressed resident alerted the US Social Security Administration in 2019, expressing concerns about Case, who was about 90 years old at that time, as no one had sighted them for over a year.
Bump’s deceitful scheme started to collapse when Social Security made several unsuccessful efforts to reach out to Case. Consequently, they insisted that she personally appear to maintain her payment privileges, as stated by DiNapoli.
According to the comptroller, when Bump showed up, doubtful SSA investigators were unconvinced by his exaggerated story. Bump claimed that his mother, who didn’t possess a passport, was on a global cruise and could only be contacted via email.
The watchdog stated that Charles Alton Bump, Jr., who admitted his guilt last month for two instances of felony theft, has been given a prison term of eight years along with three years of supervised probation and a directive to compensate for the losses.
“Mr. Bump’s conviction should serve as a warning to those who try to defraud the New York State Pension system: we will pursue those who attempt to steal from the system wherever they may live,” DiNapoli stated.
Engaging in the wrongful use of Social Security benefits following a person’s demise constitutes a federal offense—and our determination to vigorously track down individuals who hide death details in order to deceive the SSA remains unwavering, declared Ennis.
