Not reporting an inheritance, Erie man committed Social Security fraud, prosecutors claim
After his mother died in 2011, Erie resident Timothy Terell Smith received an inheritance from her estate. The bequest grew out of a settlement of a lawsuit that claimed Smith's mother died as the result of medical malpractice.
The inheritance has become the subject of another legal matter ― the prosecution of Smith in a fraud case.
Smith, 36, has been indicted on a felony count of Social Security fraud after the U.S. Attorney's Office said he failed to report that he had received the approximately $77,000 inheritance while he was collecting income-based disability benefits.
Smith is accused of engaging in the fraud from December 2015 to September 2022, according to the indictment, returned on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Erie.
Smith is accused of failing to disclose his receipt of the inheritance to the Social Security Administration, knowing that the bequest was "an event affecting his right to receive payment of Supplemental Security Income benefits," known as SSI, according to the indictment.
What led to the defendant getting the inheritance?
The indictment lists the amount of Smith's inheritance as $76,942.67. The indictment provides no information on the nature of the inheritance, but records in Erie County Common Pleas Court show that the bequest was related to the lawsuit filed over the medical treatment of Smith's mother, who was 39 when she died in October 2011.
The lawsuit ended with the financial settlement in 2015. The estate then distributed the settlement as separate bequests to Smith and other beneficiaries, including his four siblings, according to court records.
What happens next in the fraud case?
In the federal case, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Anglin, directed that Smith be charged by summons, rather than arrested, and she requested that he remain free on an unsecured bond of $10,000 following his arraignment, according to court records. The arraignment is scheduled for May 28 before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo.
Smith faces up to five years if convicted, according to court records. Restitution could also be required.
The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges the evidence will show that Smith, among other things, "acted with the intent to fraudulently secure payment of Supplemental Security Income benefits in an amount greater than was due him or when no payment to him was authorized," according to the indictment memorandum.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie man indicted in Social Security fraud case over inheritance
