A federal grand jury indicted Dean Nikolaides, 63, of Warren, for theft of government funds, said David A. Sierleja, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Nikolaides fraudulently received approximately $82,000 in benefits over 14 years from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to which he knew he was not entitled. The PBGC is a federal agency that protects the retirement incomes of American workers in private-sector defined benefit pension plans, according to the indictment.
The PBGC Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation. The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service aided in the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Sanniti is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the court will determine the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum. In most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
