Calvin Perry, a 53-year-old Utah resident, was placed under a 12-month home detention with an additional four years of probation after it was discovered that he illicitly procured Social Security disability benefits amounting to $130,901. The case, put forth by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah, concluded with Perry being mandated to repay the stolen funds.
As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Perry's deceit spanned from at least March 2017 through October 2023, all the while, earning a monthly paycheck from full-time work that he failed to disclose to the Social Security Administration (SSA). In the face of repeated reminders about updating the SSA on work activities and personal health improvements, Perry maintained that he had stopped working since 2011 due to a purported back injury.
The case unraveled when the SSA, acting on concealment tip-offs, witnessed Perry partaking in labor-intensive tasks that contradicted his disability claims. Despite being given the chance to submit a Continuing Disability Review Report, he neglected to respond, prompting the SSA to suspend his benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, it wasn't until Perry was reprimanded and interviewed in late 2023 that he and his employer admitted to his ongoing employment.
This is not Perry's first encounter with the law over fraudulent benefit claims, having previously been convicted in 2005 for attempting to illegally drudge unemployment benefits while being employed. Special Assistant United States Attorney Sachi J. Jepson spearheaded Perry's prosecution, marking another stride in the ongoing battle against social benefit fraud.
