A Missouri man stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits meant for his uncle, a disabled veteran, while his corpse rotted in a trash can.
Federal prosecutors allege that Brian K. Ditch, 44, stole more than $650,000 in disability benefits meant for his uncle, spending the money on exotic reptiles, lavish vacations, and to enrich himself.
The uncle, a U.S. Army veteran and quadriplegic died in 2019. Prosecutors say Ditch concealed the death and pocketed $9,559 in monthly disability benefits. However, even before his death, prosecutors allege that Ditch was exploiting his uncle.
Prosecutors say that starting in 2008, Ditch was solely responsible for his uncle's care. They say that he kept his uncle locked in his garage and under his control so he could fraudulently obtain his uncle's government benefits.
"Instead of properly caring for his uncle, Ditch trapped him in the garage for over 24 hours at a time, forcing his uncle 'to sit in his own urine and feces without the ability to eat or drink,'" prosecutors said.
Ditch faces four felony counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of theft of government property, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
After his uncle died, Ditch told relatives that he'd put the man in a nursing home. Ditch's uncle also received a total of $235,210 in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Retirement Insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration since 2008.
In March of this year, Salem police officers found the uncle's partially frozen body in a trash can. They also found three shotguns, which, as a convicted felon, Ditch is barred from possessing, prosecutors said.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General is committed to holding accountable anyone who exploits veterans or steals their VA benefits," said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the VA OIG's Central Field Office. "VA's programs and services are established to justly compensate deserving veterans and the VA OIG will bring to justice those who would defraud these programs."
