An Ontario senior has been charged with defrauding the Canada Pension Plan and old age security (OAS) programs of approximately $133,000.
The RCMP has just announced that on August 30 it charged Myung-Joon Kang of London, Ont., with one count of fraud over $5,000 under the criminal code.
Kang, 75, is believed to have collected the pension benefits of his deceased mother for 19 years. “The mother of the accused passed away and he failed to report that, allegedly,” said D’Arcy Cartier, media relations officer at the RCMP’s London detachment, in an interview.
The bank account where the benefits were being deposited was in the name of Kang’s mother, but he was authorized to use it in order to assist her, Cartier explained. “He legally had control of the account, [but] he was not entitled to receive her old age security after she passed away,” Cartier added.
Employment and Social Development Canada identified an overpayment of benefits and contacted the RCMP for an investigation a year ago, Cartier said.
Kang is scheduled to appear at the London Court House on Oct. 10, 2013.
A similar case was reported in July when a Windsor, Ont., woman pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government of more than $150,000. The 78-year-old woman fraudulently collected CPP and OAS benefits for 14 years on behalf of her deceased husband, according to the RCMP.
The woman now has to pay restitution of more than $150,000 to the Receiver General of Canada. She also received a 12-month conditional sentence order and 12-month probation.
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