BOSTON - A Lynn man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with stealing nearly $80,000 in veteran benefits.
John Ladd, 73, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to one year of probation with the first six months to be served in home confinement, and ordered to pay $79,958 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In August 2016, Ladd pleaded guilty to stealing public money.
In 2009, Ladd’s neighbor was receiving monthly veteran benefits when she died; however, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was not properly notified of the death therefore, her benefits each month continued to be deposited into her bank account. Ladd had been assisting his neighbor before her death, and this enabled him to access her checkbook. Although Ladd was not entitled to his neighbor’s veteran benefits, he routinely wrote checks to himself from his neighbor’s account after her death, forging her signature on each check. Ladd then deposited the checks into his own bank accounts. Ladd ultimately wrote himself 70 checks totaling $79,958.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Donna Neves, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, made the announcement today. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Landry of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
