A former employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges after stealing his deceased mother’s Social Security Disability benefits. Afshin Setoodeh, a 62-year-old resident of Blue Springs, Missouri, admitted to unlawfully obtaining approximately $55,000 in benefits since 2019.
Setoodeh became the representative payee for his mother’s SSDI benefits in 2018. He was responsible for using these funds for her care. However, after she returned to Iran in 2019 and subsequently passed away in 2022, Setoodeh failed to inform the Social Security Administration (SSA) of these developments. Instead, he continued to claim that his mother was alive and that he was appropriately managing the benefits.
In addition to withdrawing funds from her account, Setoodeh also used his mother’s identity to open several credit cards both before and after her death. At the time of these offenses, Setoodeh worked as a civil engineer with the FAA in Kansas City.
Under federal law, Setoodeh faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The actual sentence will be determined by the court based on sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors following a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda K. Hanson and was investigated by the SSA’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General.
