Many scammers put an inordinate amount of effort into devising elaborate ways to bilk people out of cash, especially when it comes to stealing money from the Social Security Administration.

Thankfully, a large number of them get incredibly sloppy along the way, and their mistakes are what eventually lead to their capture.

What led to the demise of this particular individual was that he was banking on his cover story of working for Social Security and sneaking funds using their own computer systems. He thought that working from the inside would give him an even better chance of stealing funds, while leaving not a single fingerprint of evidence.

Well, his plan was foiled, and now he has the wages of sin coming upon him.

The Charlotte Observer shares the scoop.

Oliver Montgomery’s job was to help clients get their Social Security payments. Instead, he stole them, a new court document said Tuesday – more than $37,000 in all.  An affidavit filed by one of the investigators in the case says Montgomery has been charged with theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.

It’s alleged that Montgomery managed to divert funds from two beneficiaries to himself.

His scheme went on for about a year, and it was his own hubris that helped to bring him down.

In one of the cases, Montgomery actually assisted his own investigation.

After threatening an ex-girlfriend who planned to take him to court over a previous debt, Montgomery shot her a text message with a selfie he’d taken at the Social Security office. In the photograph, Montgomery posed with a large amount of cash, the affidavit says.

“Show them that stack on my desk,” he told the former girlfriend in the text.

The woman decided to take his advice, and she promptly shared the text with federal officials.

Montgomery is now out of a job and facing some serious charges, and the SSA has another black eye to tend to as well. 

It sounds like he’s going to have plenty of time to ponder over the wisdom of his choices. Perhaps he’ll realize that the effort expended to perpetrate scams could easily be transferred to lawful ventures instead, but we won’t hold our breath on that.  

Source: Charlotte Observer