Silvano Chable, 54, of Irvington, applied for the benefits in 2000 on behalf of his brother, who’d been paralyzed in a car crash, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
His brother collected checks for 10 months before dying in May 21, 2001, the U.S. attorney said.
Rather than notify the Social Security Administration, Chable continued collecting – and cashing – the monthly benefit checks until late 2017, Sellinger said.
Chable took a plea deal from the government after he was caught, pleading guilty to wire fraud in federal court in Newark.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Chable to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay the full $237,780 in restitution on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General with the investigation leading to the plea and sentencing, secured by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Meriah Russell and Assistant U.S. Attorney Josephine Park of his Criminal Division in Camden.
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