Canada Man Allegedly Collected Mother’s Pension Worth Around $200K for 15 Years After Her Death
Bob Mougtoussidis, a 70-year-old Canadian man is accused of collecting his mother's benefits and pension worth almost $200,000 for around 15 years after she passed away, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The man now faces fraud charges for what he has allegedly done.
The investigation was conducted by Employment and Social Development Canada. The result of the investigation pointed out that the accused received his mother's Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan payments. Mr Mougtoussidis continued to receive the payments for 15 years after his mother's death. Government representatives actively participated in the RCMP investigation regarding criminal wrongdoing by the man, CTV News reported. The accused has allegedly collected around $197,000.
Mr Mougtoussidis appeared at the Ontario Court of Justice on March 27. Canada NewsWire reported that he is scheduled to appear next on April 10. RCPM informed that The Toronto man would now face criminal charges with two counts under section 354(1) - "Possession of the Proceeds of Crime", two counts under section 462.31 - "Laundering the Proceeds of Crime" and two counts under section 380(1)(a) - "Fraud Not Exceeding $5,000".
If proved guilty under section 380(1)(a), Mr Mougtoussidis may face a term of less than fourteen years as the nature his offence affected the public market price (of stocks, shares, merchandise etc.). Mr Mougtoussidis is not, however, the first person to be charged likewise. There have been other Canadians charged for similar offences.
RCPM charged Ontario man Myung-Joon Kang in August 2013 with one count under section 380(1)(a) - "Fraud Not Exceeding $5,000". The 75-year-old man collected his mother's pension benefits in the similar fashion like Mr Mougtoussidis. He continued collecting money for 19 years after his mother's death. His offence included his failure to report his mother's death. The total amount of his offence was around $133,000.
One may wonder if there is a flaw in the Canadian system of reporting death. Otherwise, it would not be possible to manipulate an unreported death in such manner.