PORTLAND, Maine — A Topsham couple has been charged in U.S. District Court and accused of diverting nearly $100,000 in Social Security disability benefits from their disabled twin daughters for their own use between October 2006 and July 2013.
Jill Gerken, 61, and Thomas Gerken, 62, made their first court appearances Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich III. Both are charged with conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration. Jill Gerken faces an additional charge of Social Security fraud.
Both were released on personal recognizance bail, according to information posted on the court’s electronic case filing system.
The defendants were not asked to enter pleas because they have not yet been indicted by a federal grand jury.
The investigation into the Gerkens began in July 2013 when a complaint alleging nonpayment for room, board and care was filed with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Social Security Administration by Progressive Housing Association that operates a full-time care facility in Topsham, according to the complaint. The Gerkens’ twin daughters, who were born in 1986 and have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and cerebral palsy, have lived at the facility since October 2006.
The daughters should have received $109,078 in benefits between October 2006 and July 2013, the complaint said. Of that, $94,840 is owed to the facility where they lived.
The Gerkens gave their daughters nearly $4,600 in spending money but spent the remaining funds paying their mortgage and other household expenses, according to the complaint.
If convicted, the couple faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. The Gerkens also could be ordered to pay restitution.