PITTSBURGH – A resident of Allegheny County has been sentenced in federal court to two years of probation and ordered to pay $22,611.62 in restitution on his conviction for theft of government money, Social Security fraud, and Social Security representative payee misuse, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on John Robert Mahoney, 54, of Curtisville Pennsylvania.
Previously, in connection with his guilty plea, the court was advised that Mahoney had applied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) be the representative payee for his minor child and receive Social Security Title II survivor benefits and Title XVI Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits on her behalf. As a representative payee, Mahoney was required to report to the SSA if his child left his household and was required to use SSA funds for his child’s benefit or save them.
In October 2015, Mahoney’s child was removed from his custody, and he failed to report the removal to the SSA as required. Mahoney continued to receive Title XVI payments on behalf of the child until December 2017 and Title II payments until April 2018. He also submitted a Representative Payee Report to SSA in which he falsely stated that his child had resided with him the prior year. Mahoney used money he received from SSA to pay his rent rather than for the child’s benefit. The overpayment by the SSA to Mahoney was $22,611.62.
Assistant United States Attorney David Lew prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Mahoney.
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