Son benefited off his dead mom for 15 years, records show. It made him a quarter-million
When Rose Greenberg died in 2004, her Social Security retirement checks were supposed to stop depositing into her and her son’s joint bank account.
They never did.
Fifteen years and more than 50 checks later, her son, serial criminal Richard Greenberg, has received $225,475 in improper statements, Southern District of Florida court documents show. But today, he has only $1,500 in the bank.
Richard Greenberg is a 67-year-old Sunrise resident living in a condominium he purchased in 1994 for $64,000.
Over the years, he has racked up an extensive criminal record.
Greenberg has had multiple arrests and felony convictions for kidnapping, aggravated battery, obstruction, loitering, buying and selling cocaine, possession of stolen property, extortion, aggravated stalking, aggravated assault on a police officer, grand theft auto and larceny.
An investigation into Rose Greenberg’s Social Security check deposits began when the Office of the Inspector General Florida Death Match Audit discovered her retirement income benefits were continuing after death.
Court documents did not say when the audit made the discovery or why the deposits were still being made, but they did say the last deposit made to Rose and Richard’s joint account was in July 2019.
During the course of an investigation into this matter, Wells Fargo ATM surveillance photos from earlier this year showed Richard Greenberg withdrawing the benefits from their joint account that were “fraudulently paid to his deceased mother.”
“Records show [Richard] also converted these funds to his own use after his mother’s death,” a criminal complaint said.
Apart from Rose Greenberg’s benefits, Richard receives $871 monthly in Social Security Disability benefits for two medical conditions.
Richard Greenberg was arrested Nov. 19 and is being charged with 55 counts of theft of government property. He is facing a possible maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
He was given a $100,000 bond and has a trial date set for Jan. 14.
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
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