Man accused of stealing over $350k from deceased mother, never reporting her death in 2005, feds say

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. ( WBNG /Gray News) - A man in Pennsylvania is accused of stealing over $350,000 from his dead mother and never reporting her death to the government in 2005.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Richard Burke, 76, of Milan, Pa., committed wire fraud from 2005 to 2022.

Burke allegedly withdrew $350,634.23 of his deceased mother’s Social Security Retirement, Survivors and Disability (RSDI) benefits and Veterans Affairs death pension benefit payments from her bank account.

Burke’s mother died in 2005, and no one was entitled to the benefits designated to her. Burke used her bank card to make regular cash withdrawals, never notifying the U.S. Social Security Administration or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of her death.

The maximum penal