Monroe County man pleads guilty to posing as dead father

Concealed death to steal more than $204K in benefits

A Monroe County man concealed the death of his father to steal more than $204,000 in Social Security and retirement benefits, once disguising himself to appear much older and obtain identification in the father’s name, federal authorities said.

Timothy Gritman, 52, of Brodheadsville, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to wire fraud and Social Security fraud, according to a news release from United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero.

He faces a maximum possible sentence of 285 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release and fines of more than $3.7 million.

Gritman’s father, Ralph, was 79 and in poor health in 2016 when he was last seen alive by relatives at the defendant’s Pennsylvania residence.

In the summer of 2017, Gritman relocated to Wyoming with his father. According to Medicare records, the father’s health insurance was used in September 2017 for an emergency visit to a Wyoming hospital.

After that, his Medicare benefits were never used again, but he was not reported dead. His Social Security and pension benefits continued to be paid to a joint account with the defendant, between October 2017 and October 2022.

While law enforcement has determined Ralph Gritman is dead, his remains have not been found.

The release said Gritman disguised himself by whitening his hair and eyebrows and posed as his father to obtain a Pennsylvania identification card from a driver’s license center. The card was sent to the New York comptroller’s office to verify the father was alive and eligible to continue receiving retirement benefits from the state.

Romero said Gritman’s guilty plea “should serve as a warning that defrauding the or any other government agency will never be worth money fraudulently obtained.”

“Over several years, Timothy Gritman collected hundreds of thousands of dollars to which he knew he wasn’t entitled,” said

Jacqueline Maguire, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, called the scheme “a criminally bad idea.”

“The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue anyone bold enough, and foolish enough, to do so,” she said.