⏱ 2 min read
Zvonko Klapan, a 68-year-old man from Liverpool, NY, has been indicted for a decade-long scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration. Between August 2016 and April 2026, Klapan allegedly stole over $142,400 in Social Security benefits intended for his deceased mother-in-law. The scheme began when Klapan’s mother-in-law passed away in 2016, and he failed to inform the Social Security Administration, instead converting her benefits checks to his own use.
Klapan’s scam involved forging his mother-in-law’s signature on monthly SSA benefits checks and depositing them into his own bank account. When the Social Security Administration switched to direct deposit only in September 2025, Klapan adapted his scheme by posing online as his dead mother-in-law to apply for and arrange direct wire transfer deposits of social security benefits checks to his personal bank account.
The indictment alleges that Klapan’s actions constitute wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of government property. He was arraigned in Binghamton, NY, before Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric on June 18, 2026. The case is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump Administration’s Fraud Task Force to eliminate fraud across the country.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sarcone stated that Klapan is finally facing justice after ten years of fraud. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: New York
- Location: NY
- Source: DOJ Press Release
