A Brodheadsville man was sentenced to 60 months in prison in federal court on Wednesday. Timothy Gritman, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe for a fraud scheme in which he concealed his father’s death to steal Social Security Administration retirement benefits and New York State pension benefits totaling $204,985.

Gritman was also ordered to pay restitution of $83,188 to the Social Security Administration and $110,897 to the New York State and Local Retirement System. He had pleaded guilty to 14 counts of wire fraud and one count of Social Security fraud on Feb. 13, 2023.

Gritman’s father, Ralph, was 79 years old and in poor health when he was last seen alive by relatives at Gritman’s Pennsylvania residence in 2016. In the summer of 2017, Gritman relocated to Wyoming with his father. According to Medicare records, the father’s health benefits were used in September 2017 for an emergency visit to a Wyoming hospital, and then never utilized again.

Investigators believe Ralph Gritman died in or about October 2017, with Timothy Gritman concealing the death from family members and disposing of Ralph’s body in an unknown manner. As Ralph Gritman was never reported deceased, his SSA and pension benefits continued to be paid into a joint account with the defendant from approximately October 2017 to October 2022.

The defendant made many false statements to government officials to conceal his fraud and enable him to continue stealing government funds, even physically posing as his father numerous times, using makeup to look older.

To date, the defendant refuses to divulge the whereabouts of his father’s remains, which, despite numerous searches, have not been found.

“Timothy Gritman chose dollars and cents over a dignified death for his dad,” said Romero. “He had been living off of his father Ralph’s retirement benefits for years, even before his father’s passing - and after it, went to significant lengths to keep that money coming in. With today’s sentence, he’s finally being made to answer for his criminal greed.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the New York State Office of the Comptroller and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Curran.