An Alabama man who pretended to be his dead father to defraud Jefferson County’s retirement plan of more than $100,000 has been sentenced to federal prison.
Gary Dean Gibbs, 52, was federally charged earlier this year with one count of wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to the crime.
U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco this week sentenced Gibbs to one year and one day. He was also ordered to pay $132,646 restitution to the General Retirement System for Employees of Jefferson County, also known as GRS, according to a joint announcement Wednesday by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Feliz Rivera-Esparra.
Gibbs’ father was a former employee of Jefferson County who received benefits through GRS, which is a retirement plan that provides benefits to retired and disabled employees of Jefferson County.
Beginning in September 2017 and continuing until February 2022, Gibbs concealed his father’s death from GRS and collected money from GRS to which he was not entitled, authorities said.
Gibbs used his father’s personal information and forged his father’s signature on documents submitted to GRS to further his scheme. Additionally, documents state, Gibbs assumed his father’s identity during telephone calls with a GRS employee.
“The defendant’s theft of money from the GRS was detrimental to the hard-working employees and retirees of Jefferson County, who contributed for years to the retirement plan, and was appropriately punished by time in federal prison,” Escalona said.
The FBI investigated the case along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin prosecuted the case.
“Gibbs’ fraudulent scheme took money away from the Jefferson County retirement system intended for those who have saved for their later years,” Rivera said. “The sentence handed down today holds him accountable for his actions and allows for restitution to the victims.”