A Canadian man has been arrested, sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to repay $420,000 he stole in Social Security benefits over a 30-year period, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska said in a news release May 12.
Ellis Kingsep, 77, was legally living in the U.S. and used an "elaborate scheme" to collect Social Security benefits intended for his mother, the office says. His mother would now be 103 years old, but no records of her exist past 1993 and she’s presumed dead.
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As President Donald Trump has pushed to uncover what he called "shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud" in Social Security, this situation highlights concerns about how long-term fraud can slip through the cracks, especially when beneficiaries die and no one reports it.
How did Kingsep keep receiving payments?
Kingsep’s fraud, the office says, relied on a complex system of mail forwarding that helped him receive and send mail in his mother’s name. Citing court documents, it says he used multiple private mailbox accounts in California, Vancouver and Alaska to intercept and reroute mail.
It’s estimated the scheme was devised in 1995 and continued undetected until 2023, when a federal investigator uncovered the deception. At this point, the payments were stopped.
Kingsep was arrested in July 2024 and in December pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. In addition to the prison sentence and restitution, the court also imposed a $50,000 criminal fine and ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
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How common is Social Security fraud?
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly made unverified claims about widespread fraud in the Social Security system. During a joint session of Congress, Trump claimed,
"1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159 and over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old." He even said that one person was listed as being 360 years old.
While the numbers sound alarming, these statements reflect a misunderstanding of the data rather than actual fraud. Millions of people in the Social Security database appear to be over 100, but that’s largely because they died before death records were digitized, and their deaths were never formally recorded. Nearly all of those individuals are no longer receiving benefits. In fact, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reports that just 0.1% of Social Security retirement beneficiaries are over the age of 100. SSA policy also halts payments for beneficiaries over the age of 115.
In terms of financial errors, the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General reported nearly $72 billion in improper payments in 2024. But that number included overpayments and underpayments to beneficiaries.
The Inspector General’s office has made several recommendations to improve payment accuracy, though many remained to be implemented as of August. Still, fraud itself appears to be rare. Kathleen Romig, Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, noted that Social Security maintains a payment accuracy rate of nearly 99%.
The Kingsep case is a rare example, but it highlights the importance of keeping records up to date. When a loved one who receives benefits passes away, the funeral home usually notifies the SSA. If no funeral home is involved, you can report the death directly by calling 1-800-772-1213.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
