A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of stealing Social Security benefits from a deceased person. He managed to fraudulently obtain $200,000 from the Social Security Administration before he was caught. The man is now awaiting sentencing for the fraud.
Nicholas T. Grimes, a 31-year-old from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, was found guilty of a serious crime. He reportedly began stealing the deceased person’s benefits in 2014. After the recipient passed away, Grimes redirected the payments to himself.
An audit found 58,000 Social Security numbers tied to death records… yet those accounts claimed over $94 million in tax credits. Unreal. https://t.co/SuE5aDJ6Ej
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) December 5, 2025
Officials explained how the man managed to steal $216,779 from the deceased’s benefits. He continued to access the money through an ATM. The Beaver Falls resident was sentenced to 3 years’ probation and 7 days of intermittent confinement.
First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the sentence following the man’s conviction for theft of government property. United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan handed down the sentence in federal court on December 8, 2025.
According to court documents, the person Grimes stole from was a Title II Social Security recipient. The retirement benefits continued to be deposited even after the individual’s death, and the 31-year-old withdrew the funds using ATM transactions.
The court has ordered Grimes to repay the full amount of $216,779 to the SSA. According to a DOJ statement, Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted the case.
First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti commended the SSA – Office of the Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, which were involved in investigating the case.
What Grimes did was illegal and raises the question of what happens to the benefits of a deceased person. Payments stop once a recipient passes away. The payment is terminated beginning the month the person dies.
Additionally, the SSA will recover any overpayments. If the recipient is survived by eligible family members, they may receive survivor benefits. These benefits are available only if all eligibility criteria are met.
Folks, dead people don’t Get Social security.
I just went through this.
My mother didn’t get a Social security deposit in July when she passed June 20th.
The funeral home NOTIFIES social security of a death.
— CENTER LEFT WINS ELECTIONS (@reesetheone1) February 17, 2025
Surviving family members must understand the process to avoid repayment requests during an already difficult time. According to Investopedia, the SSA follows a strict “no-benefits-for-the-month-of-death” policy.
Under this rule, if a person dies on the 31st of a month, their family does not receive a check the following month. Banks are legally required to reverse direct deposits, and heirs are instructed to mail back any uncashed paper checks.
