A Kentucky man who claims to have made as much as $100,000 annually by panhandling while pretending to be disabled has pleaded guilty to misrepresenting his condition to obtain Social Security benefits.
33-year-old Gary Hank Thompson pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green to making false statements and representations to the Social Security Administration.
Prosecutors say Thompson obtained $24,884 between 2009 and 2013 in Supplemental Security Income benefits that he was not entitled to receive. He also obtained $81,831 in Medicaid benefits during the same period.
Federal investigators said Thompson misrepresented his mental condition during an initial interview with Social Security in 2009 and then again in 2013.
Thompson will be sentenced in June.