PA Man Kept Dad's Death A Secret For 5 Years To Collect Benefits: Feds

BRODHEADSVILLE, PA — A Monroe County man was sentenced to five years in prison this week after prosecutors said he kept his father's death a secret for five years to collect the deceased man's social security benefits and pension.

Timothy Gritman, 56, of Brodheadsville, was sentenced in federal court Wednesday. A judge also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced.

According to prosecutors, Gritman’s father Ralph Gritman was 79 years old and in poor health when he was last seen alive by relatives at his Pennsylvania residence in 2016.

During the summer of 2017, Gritman moved to Wyoming with his father. According to Medicare records, Ralph Gritman's health benefits were used in September 2017 for a visit to a Wyoming emergency room and never used again.

According to prosecutors, investigators believe Ralph Gritman died in or around October 2017. Meanwhile, Gritman concealed his father's death from family members and disposed of his body in an unknown manner.

According to court documents, Ralph Gritman was never reported deceased and his social security and New York state pension benefits continued to be paid into a joint account with his son from October 2017 to October 2022.

During that time, prosecutors said Gritman lied to government officials to conceal his fraud. At times, prosecutors said Gritman would physically pose as his father, using makeup to make himself look older.

To date, the location of Ralph Gritman's remains is unknown.