A Belchertown man has been given a 10-month prison sentence for swindling the Social Security system out of more than $114,000, federal prosecutors in Springfield announced. Kenneth Pontz, 59, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, with the hearing to determine restitution and forfeiture set for March 5, 2024.
Pontz's wrongdoings stretched over 16 years during which he falsely represented his living situation to the Social Security Administration by failing to declare that he lived with his income-earning spouse and by falsely claiming residence at a vacant lot.
In August of last year, after a four-day trial, a federal jury found Pontz guilty of theft of public funds, citing that he had concealed his actual living arrangements and had provided a bogus rent receipt which inflated his rent by $575 a month. This deceit was part of a scheme to collect disability payments erroneously by sidestepping income calculations that would have factored in his wife's earnings.
Pontz also lined his pockets with around $46,000 embezzled from his trailer park association where he had served as treasurer, the U.S. Attorney's Office revealed, Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, alongside Sharon MacDermott, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration and Belchertown Police Chief Kevin Pacunas, brought these charges to light, with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches leading the prosecution.
