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Gerard Scparta, a former New York City Police Department officer from Campbell Hall in Orange County, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $630,000 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and underreporting income on his taxes to the tune of $268,000.
Scparta pleaded guilty to lying to the Social Security Administration about his disability, and falsely represented that he was unable to work due to his disability. While he was collecting disability benefits, he earned a total of approximately $1.6 million while working as a security guard and host at a strip club in Manhattan.
Between 1986 and 1997, Scparta worked for the NYPD. Thereafter, after reportedly sustaining an injury at the age of 32, Scparta began receiving fraudulently obtained disability. Scparta was referred to a third-party, who falsely stated that he “suffered from severe depression and anxiety, could not do anything around his house and was unable to work in any capacity.”
The third-party went on to instruct Scparta to make false statements to physicians that examined him so he could continue submitting his disability checks. Scparta also made false statements to the Social Security Administration about not working, while he was earning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In addition to his deception with the Social Security Administration, Scparta also engaged in tax evasion from 2012 to 2017, utilizing a nominee company to register his wife to report income that Scparta earned from the strip club and falsely underreported that income by a total of $268,602.
Scparta, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of tax evasion. He will also forfeit $638,586 in Social Security disability benefits that he fraudulently obtained. When he is sentenced on July 16, Scparta will face up to 15 years in prison.
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