Crimesider
Crimesider
May 4, 2012 2:34 PM

Thomas Prusik-Parkin, NY man who dressed as dead mom to collect her checks, convicted of larceny

By
Crimesider Staff
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Caught on Tape

Thomas Parkin impersonated his mother, Irene Prusik, in order to collect her benefits.

Thomas Prusik-Parkin (.l) seen here dressed as his mother. He was convicted in a scheme involving impersonating his mother, Irene Prusik, in order to collect her benefits.

/ Kings County D. A.
(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - Thomas Prusik-Parkin has been convicted in a bizarre scheme that involved him dressing up as his mother and collecting her Social Security benefits for six years after she had died.

Parkin, 52, of Brooklyn,  has been in jail for three years had rejected a plea deal that would have freed him, reports the New York Daily News.  He now faces up to 83 years behind bars.

According to the Daily News, a jury took less than a day to convict Prusik-Parkin.

Prosecutors say Parkin doctored his mother's death certificate after her 2003 death to make it look as if she were alive. He even dressed as his mother and went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew her driver's license. The Daily News reports that jurors were shown pictures of Prusik-Parkin wearing a blonde wig and red dress at the DMV in 2009.

The mother, Irene Prusik, had deeded her house to Parkin but he failed to make the payments and it was sold at foreclosure.

Prosecutors say Parkin sued the new owner in his mother's name, alleging real estate fraud.


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