Roanoke Man Sentenced for Theft of Social Security Administration Funds

Roanoke, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man, who stole more than $100,000 of Social Security Administration funds intended for his deceased wife after he failed to report her death to that agency, was sentenced today in federal court, United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Walter J. Doran, 77, was sentenced today to six months in prison, three years supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $108,787. Doran previously pleaded guilty to one count of with theft of government money, willfully and knowingly steal and convert for his own use money of the Social Security Administration.

According to evidence presented at a previous hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day, Doran failed to report his wife’s death to the Social Security Administration in 2009. The defendant continued to receive his late wife’s Social Security Retirement benefits from 2009 through April 2016 and use the funds for his own use. In all, Doran received $108,787 in Social Security Administration benefits to which he was not entitled. 

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Social Security Administration.  Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.