United States Attorney Joe Kelly announced that Chief United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Craig A. Barnett, 62, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Thursday to a jail term of 16 months, a term of supervised release of three years and restitution of $277,000 for his conviction for wire and mail fraud.
During the six-year period from February 2010 through September 2016, Barnett misappropriated monies from his father’s various income sources including his Social Security benefits, his pension plan payouts and various investment funds that were to be used for the care of his elderly father. Barnett used the money for his own personal use and enjoyment.
As part of his scheme, Barnett had his father execute a power of attorney granting Barnett control over his father’s financial affairs. Barnett then used this power of attorney to steal his father’s personal funds, which were to be used to pay for his father’s care at an assisted-living facility where he resided. Some of these stolen funds were used by Barnett to purchase a new home and an automobile unbeknownst to his elderly father.
It was not until the Office of the Public Guardian for the State of Nebraska intervened on behalf of his father that the fraudulent conduct on the part of the defendant was discovered. As part of his sentence, Barnett is required to make restitution in the total amount of $277,000 to his father, the State of Nebraska, and the assisted-living facility where his father still resides.
This case was investigated by the United State Department of Labor, the Office of Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Public Guardian for the State of Nebraska.