Md. Man Pleads Guilty to Getting Dead Sister-In-Law’s Pension, Marrying Elderly Woman Twice in Fraud Scheme

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after stealing more than $100,000 in Social Security benefits and fraudulently receiving nearly $600,000 in pension benefits over the course of 15 years.

According to his guilty plea, 58-year-old Calelah John Lattisaw of New Carrollton began receiving Supplemental Security Income through the Social Security Administration for a disability in February 1993.

In 1997, Lattisaw was living with his sister-in-law. When she died on November 23 of that year, she was receiving Social Security survivor benefits, as well as a D.C. pension, administered via direct deposit by the U.S. Treasury.

Prior to her death, Lattisaw was added as a co-signor to her bank account under the name John. H. Lattisaw, using the Social Security number of another individual. The Social Security Administration and the U.S. Treasury were not advised of the woman’s death, and Lattisaw withdrew virtually all of the Social Security and pension benefits from her account via ATM withdrawals and debit purchases. Lattisaw did not advise the Social Security Administration of this additional income.

More