Somerset Man Sentenced For Stealing $600K In Dead Father's Benefits

SOMERSET, NJ — A Somerset County man was sentenced to one year and one day in prison after pretending his dead dad was still alive to steal more than $600,000 in federal benefits, Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Steven Jones, 66, of Somerset, previously pleaded guilty in November 2024 before Judge Robert Kirsch to the charge of theft of public money. Kirsch imposed the sentence on Friday in Trenton federal court.

Jones' father received several federal retirement benefits before he died in October 2004.

After Jones's father died, Jones intentionally falsified his father’s death certificate so that the federal agencies would continue to issue the retirement benefits, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

On two occasions, Jones had a person impersonate his father to a federal agency so that the agency would think his father was still alive and continue payments, according to authorities.

The investigation found that Jones unlawfully collected these payments for nearly 20 years, from October 2004 to December 2023.

In addition to the prison term, Kirsch sentenced Jones to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $691,465.44 in restitution.

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