Stamp of Disapproval

Fraudsters will use family members to accomplish their crime if they are desperate enough. A story reported in the Rutland Herald tells about a father who used his daughter’s signature to defraud the government of approximately $10,000.

The article states that the man’s daughter had a job where she legitimately provided personal care and companionship for a disabled adult. The daughter left Vermont to attend college in Georgia for four years, but while she was away, her father continued to submit time sheets as if she was still performing her job responsibilities back home. The father then signed his daughter’s name on the checks received and even had a stamp of her signature made to accomplish the task. (Now that is low.)

The 68-year-old father pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of false pretences and was sentenced to two-and-a-half to five years in jail. Lucky for him, the time was suspended and he ended up with two years of probation, 60 hours of community service and was ordered to pay $9,620 in restitution to the Vermont Medicaid program.

Fraudsters will usually justify their actions with irrational reasoning. Perhaps the dad thought he could help pay his daughter’s tuition bills with the extra income from his fraudulent activities. (I wonder how the daughter feels about her father’s criminal actions.) My guess is that along with the judge in this case, she has given him a stamp of disapproval.

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