Fraud In Pennsylvania

From the Times Tribune:

A Hazleton man and his girlfriend face 20 years in prison after admitting to stealing more than $88,000 in disability payments meant for his dead father.

Joseph M. Yesvetz, 52, and Annamarie Gorski, 46, both of Diamond Avenue, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in front of U.S. District Judge William J. Nealon on Wednesday.

Mr. Yesvetz is the son of Albert W. Yesvetz, also of Hazleton. The elder Mr. Yesvetz had collected disability benefits since 1986, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Kosik-Whitaker.

No one notified the state of the elder Mr. Yesvetz’s death in September 2001, Ms. Kosik-Whitaker said, so the $694 checks continued to be sent twice a month. Mr. Yesvetz also allegedly told state employees who called in 2002, 2005 and 2006 to inquire about his father’s disability status that his father couldn’t come to the phone, but his health condition remained unchanged, according to court records.

Prosecutors estimate that Mr. Yesvetz and Ms. Gorski received about 127 disability checks totaling $88,138. Mr. Yesvetz is accused of forging his father’s signature and depositing checks into his mother’s bank account and another he shared with Ms. Gorski. She is accused of cashing one of the disability checks at her bank.