Former Hampton Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to Obtain Social Security Benefits

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire:

CONCORD – A former Hampton Falls man pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements to obtain additional Social Security benefits, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Kenneth Simard Jr., 37, pleaded guilty to False Statements. U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty scheduled sentencing for November 30, 2023.

Simard applied for Social Security Supplemental Security Insurance benefits on behalf of a disabled minor child in October 2018. In the application, Simard represented that the child lived with him and that he would use the benefits on behalf of the child. However, Simard lost custody of the child in February 2019. Although he was required to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) if the child moved, Simard continued to tell the SSA that he lived with the child and obtained $23,148 in benefits that he was not entitled to receive.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 5 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Matthew T. Hunter are prosecuting the case.