A New York man refused to claim his father’s body from a morgue for a year so he could cash in on his deceased dad’s Social Security payments.
An investigation by the Social Security Administration’s inspector general found that Christopher Bunn, of Queens, stole $25,000 worth of benefits intended for his father, who died in 2010.
"James Bunn, 77, died in February 2010 of natural causes in a parked car in Nassau County, New York," the inspector general reported Wednesday. "The Nassau County Medical Examiner’s Office notified Christopher Bunn several times about his father’s death, but he repeatedly failed to claim his father’s body, so a death certificate was not filed for James Bunn."
Christopher Bunn avoided claiming his father’s body to collect $17,790 in Social Security payments and $7,541 from the New York State Pension System. Bunn was sentenced on Tuesday to time served and full restitution.
"This was a very disturbing case in which the defendant left his father’s body unclaimed in a morgue for well over a year following his death in order to continue receiving his father’s Social Security and pension payments," said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
James Bunn, who was a sergeant with the NYPD, finally received a proper burial last week. Brown said Bunn had been buried in an anonymous grave for four years.
"Justice has been achieved in this case, and Sergeant Bunn and his family members finally have the closure they deserve," Brown said.