A 68-year-old Florida man has confessed to playing a high-stakes shell game with the federal government, pocketing over a quarter million dollars in disability benefits while moonlighting as a real estate whiz, federal authorities disclosed. The scam, which saw the Sarasota man collect disability checks all the while flipping houses and branding himself a hot-shot broker, landed him a possible 10-year stint behind bars.
Despite claims of being unable to work due to injury since 1995, the former railroad worker was actively engaged in repairing and flipping homes for profit—a fact conveniently omitted from his daily planner. According to an April 29 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, cited by The Miami Herald, he defrauded the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board to the tune of $271,124 by failing to report his actual work engagement.
The man's LinkedIn profile, including his role as a broker for White Sands Realty Group since 2009, paints the picture of a successful real estate professional, not the disabled retiree he purported to be. This online portrayal clashed with the false, incomplete, and misleading answers he provided when questioned about his employment status, the federal prosecutors argued. Still, while cashing in disability benefits, he was involved with at least 22 businesses, managed several condo associations, and juggled five real estate broker’s licenses, as revealed by The Miami Herald and his plea agreement.
In the seven-year span running from 2012 to 2019, aside from the disability deceit, the man reportedly hustled $344,000 from his realty group and another $300,000 from various ventures, as per court documents obtained by AOL News. Following his guilty plea in Tampa federal court, the government has motioned for the forfeiture of properties to balance the books on the wrongfully obtained disability funds. Mark P. Rankin, the broker's defense attorney, was missing in action when reached out for comment on the case, as reported by both news outlets.
While the man’s sentencing date remains unscheduled, his case adds a new chapter to the growing ledger of federal benefit fraud cases, alongside others who have been caught vacationing and engaging in various physical activities whilst claiming disability for injuries. The audacity of this breed of fraudsters leaves the honest taxpayer footing the bill for their supposed infirmity-fueled leisure and lucrative side hustles, a story all too common, as evidenced by the series of similar incidents cited by federal authorities.
