A 57-year-old man from Volusia County will spend over five years behind bars for stealing Social Security benefits that were being distributed to his father, who has been missing since 2014.
Robert Butzlaff was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron for fraudulent use of an unauthorized access device and aggravated identity theft. As part of his sentence, Butzlaff must pay restitution of $57,296.
Butzlaff was found guilty in September 2022 by a federal jury, nearly 8 years after his father was first reported missing.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, despite Butzlaff’s father being reported missing, his disappearance was never reported to the Social Security Administration and payments continued to be issued in his name.
The payments were deposited into a bank account that the father held with Butzlaff. Following his father’s disappearance, Butzlaff created a new bank account using his father’s personal information and began redirecting the Social Security benefit payments to the new account. Butzlaff then obtained debit cards for the account and used the funds for himself.
“This sentence of 70 months’ imprisonment holds Mr. Butlzaff accountable for intentionally misusing Social Security benefits, intended for his father, for his own personal gain. This is a federal crime, and we will continue to pursue perpetrators of Social Security fraud,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.