Langhorne Man Charged for Disability Fraud with Others from Philly Region

last week the United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has charged no less than a dozen cases involving Social Security fraud, either by Information or Indictment, with nine of those defendants pleading guilty to those charges this year so far.

Marcus Ecks, 38, of Langhorne was charged by Information on June 28 with theft of government funds. Ecks pleaded guilty on September 8, 2022. No information was released about his sentencing date as of publication time.

11 others from the Philadelphia region were also charged with Disability theft related offenses, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District said.

The charges are the result of a concerted effort to investigate, prosecute and deter theft of government funds, primarily by way of stealing the Social Security payments of a deceased beneficiary. Altogether, the fraud loss amount in these cases totals nearly $1 million, according to a press release issued last week.

The other suspects charged are as follows:

• Sloan Carter, 59, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on August 2, 2022, with theft of government funds; pleaded guilty on September 7, 2022;
• Anthony Percell, 54, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charged by Indictment on August 9, 2022, with social security fraud, passport fraud, identity theft, and related charges; scheduled for trial early next year;
• Angel Guilbe, Jr., 53, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on August 17, 2022, with theft of government funds; pleaded guilty on September 19, 2022;
• Stephanie Rudnick, 52, of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on May 19, 2022, with theft of government funds; pleaded guilty on June 7, 2022;
• Lilian Rogers, 58, of Glenolden, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on March 4, 2022, with theft of government funds; pleaded guilty on April 27, 2022;
• Dana Douglas-Rodriguez, 40, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charged by Indictment on April 6, 2021, with wire fraud and social security fraud; pleaded guilty to social security fraud on May 3, 2022;
• Paulette Tamburro, 55, of Collingswood Heights, New Jersey; charged by Information on December 15, 2021, with theft of government funds; pleaded guilty on May 4, 2022;
• Michael Smith, 62, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on September 2, 2022, with theft of government funds;
• Aracelis Quinones-Martinez, 52, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on August 24, 2022, with theft of government funds;
• Ivan Wallace, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charged by Indictment on September 16, 2021, with wire fraud and social security fraud; pleaded guilty to social security fraud on September 28, 2022;
• Christopher Miller, 59, of Wernersville, Pennsylvania; charged by Information on September 20, 2022, with theft of government funds.

As an initiative to increase federal Social Security fraud prosecutions, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides DOJ with attorneys who are sworn in and serve as Special Assistant United States Attorneys (SAUSA) in multiple U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country. The SAUSA’s focus is solely to prosecute Social Security fraud. The goal of this initiative is to increase the number of prosecutions for fraud involving Social Security programs\, officials said.

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“Social Security benefits are intended to help Americans who have worked hard and need some extra help making ends meet,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Thieves who take these funds fraudulently are taking advantage of American workers and taxpayers who fund these programs. Thanks to our partnership with SSA, our Office has dedicated prosecutors who are making a difference bringing these fraudsters to justice.”

“Our work to protect Social Security programs and taxpayers’ funds from criminals is one of our highest priorities. We will continue to pursue those who seek to defraud SSA, and we rely heavily on the SAUSAs to prosecute Social Security fraud, which is a federal crime,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and SAUSAs Laura Bradbury and Megan Curran for their efforts in prosecuting these cases and holding these persons accountable for their criminal actions.”

These cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and are being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Bradbury and Megan Curran.

FBI Filed Office in Philadelphia
Credit: Jeff Bohen, Lower Bucks Source