Crime & Safety

Montville Resident Is Sentenced in Social Security Fraud Case


A 58-year-old Montville resident was sentenced Friday to three years probation and ordered to make restitution of the more than $42,000 in Social Security benefits he illegally received.

Connecticut's U.S. Attorney, Deirdre M. Daly,  announced that John Francis Williams, of Montville, was sentenced on Feb. 21 by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven. Williams was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $42,156.20.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the defendant’s birth name was Russell Fithian. Sometime prior to 1993, the defendant obtained the Social Security card and birth certificate of a John Francis Williams.  In 1993, the defendant applied for and received a replacement Social Security card in the name of John Francis Williams. Thereafter, he used the name John Francis Williams.

In August 2009, the defendant applied for Social Security retirement income benefits under the name of John Francis Williams, who would have turned 62 that year and had reached eligible retirement age. The defendant was 54 at the time of his application and was not eligible for retirement benefits under his true identity.  The defendant thereafter received monthly benefits, totaling $42,156.20, until February 2013.

In 2013, the defendant legally changed his name to John Francis Williams. On Oct. 8, 2013, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property.

The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Felice Duffy.     


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