Home Omaha Press Releases 2010 Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud and Theft of Social Security Funds
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Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud and Theft of Social Security Funds

U.S. Attorney’s Office March 02, 2010
  • Northern District of Iowa (319) 363-6333

A Cedar Rapids man who used a false identity to file for bankruptcy and collect Social Security benefits pled guilty on March 1, 2010, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Duane Vernon Schneider, age 76, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and theft of Social Security funds.

At the plea hearing, Schneider admitted he made false statements in a bankruptcy petition filed in 2005 by using a false identity. Schneider filed the petition under the name Vern Snyder and a false Social Security number. Schneider also admitted that, from about 2000 through October 2008, he collected more than $100,000 in Social Security retirement benefits under the name Vern Snyder using the false Social Security number.

Schneider’s criminal activity was discovered through software at the Iowa Department of Transportation that determined he had obtained drivers’ licenses under both his true and his alternate identities. The DOT passed the information to the Social Security Administration that, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Trustee, investigated the case as part of the Bankruptcy Fraud Task Force in the Northern District of Iowa.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Schneider remains free on bond previously set. Schnieder faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and up to six years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Trustee.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-0001.

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