Fraud In Montana

From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:

A 49-year-old Three Forks man illegally used his elderly mother’s Social Security benefits to buy tires, pay taxes and cover his restaurant and bar bills, while simultaneously neglecting his mother’s health and well being, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Pendelton Bernard Merriam pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud in Helena on Thursday, according to the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana. ...

Merriam applied to be his mother’s “representative payee,” and promised to use the Social Security payments for his mother’s current needs and save any “currently unneeded benefits for future use,” according to the government.