| For Immediate Release Case # 13CF0284 January 29, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN CHARGED WITH FRAUDULENTLY COLLECTING OVER $100,000 IN DECEASED FATHER’S SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
*Defendant was identified as part of investigation into human bones found in Santa Ana backyard
SANTA ANA – A man has been charged with fraudulently collecting over $100,000 in his deceased father’s social security benefits after being identified by detectives investigating human bones found in a Santa Ana backyard. Larry Thomas Dominguez, 65, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of theft by embezzlement and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime over $100,000. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. Dominguez is being held on $100,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned today, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
On Jan. 27, 2013, residents in Santa Ana contacted the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) to report finding bones in the backyard of their home. SAPD began investigating the case, as the bones appeared to be human remains. Investigators determined that Dominguez was the prior resident and subsequently contacted the defendant at his mobile home residence in Santa Ana as part of the investigation into the bones. The initial investigation revealed the following:
In May 2005, Dominguez’s father Wallace Benjamin Dominguez died. Between May 2005 and January 2013, the defendant is accused of illegally stealing his deceased father’s social security benefits. He is accused of fraudulently collecting over $1,100 per month in benefits, stealing over $100,000 in all.
The investigation is ongoing and the cause of death and identification of the bones is pending. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact SAPD Detective Leo Rodriguez at (714) 245-8390 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Ron Seman at (714) 347-8814.
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