Social Security worker tried to pay NH woman for sex, feds say. He’s sentenced
A Massachusetts man was sentenced to prison after officials said he used his position as a Social Security employee to try and lure a woman into prostitution.
Dae Sung Kim, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to induce a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution in February, according to an Aug. 22 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Kim was sentenced to six months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
McClatchy News reached out to Kim’s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back.
In March 2024, a woman went to the Gardner Social Security Administration office seeking benefits after losing her job, officials said. While there, she spoke with Kim, who was working as a SSA claims specialist, for about 20 minutes. Kim gave her forms, then directed her to another office in New Hampshire, where she lived, a criminal complaint said.
Later that day, Kim called the woman on her cell phone and told her he knew she was in a difficult situation and “maybe they could work something out that would benefit them both,” the complaint said.
On March 15, the woman identified Kim, and law enforcement monitored a text conversation between the two where Kim asked the woman “Would you be open to having some fun for $,” the complaint said.
On March 20, the woman spoke to Kim over the phone, and he asked the woman about having sex and said they could “help each other out” by giving her money, officials said.
The two went back and forth on a price, and when the woman asked for $300, Kim said he would need to “budget” for it, according to the complaint.
On June 24, an undercover agent took over communication and Kim began texting the agent unknowingly, the complaint said.
Between June 24 and Oct. 11, the two had several conversations where they discussed meeting up for sex and Kim paying who he thought was the woman, the complaint said.
In some cases, Kim rescheduled because he said he didn’t have the money at the time, officials said.
On Oct. 11, Kim, thinking he was texting the woman, agreed to meet in a hotel parking lot to engage in sex acts for money, officials said. However, when he arrived, he was greeted by authorities instead.
Initially, Kim denied using the Social Security systems to access the woman’s phone number, but then admitted that’s how he got her number, the complaint said.
He told authorities he was there “to meet up with (the woman)” and “to possibly hook up,” according to the complaint.
“This was a shocking abuse of power by someone entrusted to serve the public. The defendant, while employed as an SSA claims specialist, attempted to exploit a vulnerable, disabled mother seeking to apply for reinstatement of disability benefits after losing her job. This predatory behavior is intolerable,” Michelle Anderson, acting inspector general for the Social Security Administration, said.
