Vinton Man Cashed Dead Grandmother’s Social Security Checks

Robert Wozniak, 48, of Vinton, Virginia, is facing federal justice after admitting he stole more than $16,500 in Social Security retirement benefits meant for his deceased grandmother—while hiding her body in a freezer and later a sealed barrel for months. The gruesome fraud scheme unraveled when Wozniak’s landlord grew suspicious of a strange barrel and a suspicious hole on the rental property she owned.

Wozniak previously pled guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of Social Security fraud. On the day of sentencing in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg, he was handed time served and will now face two years of supervised release. He’s also been ordered to pay full restitution of $16,500 and a $200 special assessment.

Court records reveal Wozniak knowingly continued collecting retirement benefit payments from the Social Security Administration between July 2015 and April 2016—long after his grandmother, Betty Wozniak, had died. He deliberately concealed her death to keep the checks flowing, according to evidence presented by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day.

Even more disturbing, Wozniak admitted to storing Betty Wozniak’s body in a freezer immediately after her death, then transferring it to a barrel where it remained hidden for months. Authorities discovered the remains only after Wozniak’s landlord reported the suspicious container and excavation site on the property in Bedford County.

The investigation was a joint effort involving the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General. Each agency played a key role in uncovering the fraud and the shocking concealment of human remains.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government. The case stands as a grim reminder of how far some will go to profit off government programs—and the lengths law enforcement must take to bring them to justice.