Pa. man admits getting $350K in benefits by concealing the death of his mother

WILLIAMSPORT — A Bradford County man has admitted he fraudulently obtained $350,000 in Social Security and Veterans Administration benefits for 17 years by concealing his mother’s death.

Richard D. Burke, 76, of the Sayre area, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court to a charge of wire fraud.

He admitted converting for personal use his mother’s benefits that continued to be electronically transferred into a First Citizens Community Bank account after her death on March 14, 2005.

Burke had access to the account through a bank card that was not disabled until after a March 7, 2022, withdrawal from an ATM in Sayre.

Until her death, his mother, who identified as S.M., was receiving her late husband’s benefits through the retirement, survivors and disability insurance progra