SYRACUSE — An 80-year-old Schuylerville man was sentenced to 3 years of probation on Tuesday for using a false identity to collect over $30,000 in Social Security benefits. He obtained these benefits from September 2008 through June 2019.
Thomas Baxter, who is also known as Mark Anthony, had pleaded guilty to a fraud charge. He admitted that in 1971 he fraudulently applied for and received a second Social Security number under a fictitious name. He used that identity to claim and spend $31,362 in benefits.
He continued to receive benefits under his real name and number, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Syracuse.
Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy also ordered Baxter to pay full restitution to the Social Security Administration.
The case was investigated by the SSA Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian LaRochelle.
