SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A Poway man who hid his mother's death for over three decades in order to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in government benefits pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal money laundering and Social Security fraud charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Donald Felix Zampach, 65, collected $830,238 meant for his mother following her death in 1990.
Zampach posed as his mother on official forms in order to continue receiving her benefits, including by forging her signature on certificates of eligibility and filing forged tax returns under her name, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Zampach also laundered the stolen funds to pay off the mortgage on his home and used his mother's identity to open accounts with at least nine financial institutions, causing them to lose over $28,000.
In a statement, San Diego U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said, "This crime is believed to be the longest-running and largest fraud of its kind in this district. This defendant didn't just passively collect checks mailed to his deceased mother. This was an elaborate fraud spanning more than three decades that required aggressive action and deceit to maintain the ruse."
Zampach is slated to be sentenced in September. As part of his plea agreement, he's expected to pay over $830,000 and forfeit his home in order to make restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
