Ex-NYPD lieutenant from LIC arrested for Social Security fraud

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By Alex Williamson

A former NYPD lieutenant from Long Island City has been arrested on charges of wire fraud in connection to $130,000 in Social Security disability payments he collected between 2009 and 2018. According to investigators, the defendant made false statements to collect the benefits on behalf of his children, who had resided with their mother since birth. 

According to investigators, Michael Conway began collecting Social Security disability payments in 2009 for a work-related injury he suffered in 2007 while employed by the NYPD. 

In 2009, Conway submitted an application to the Social Security Administration for auxiliary benefits for his twin children, who were eight years old at the time. According to the complaint, he attested in the application that no other relatives provided support for the twins, and that they lived with him in Queens. 

Conway allegedly collected $138,016.60 in auxiliary benefits for the children between 2009 and 2018, according to investigators. 

In September 2018, the children’s mother went to a local SSA office to help her son, who was legally blind, apply for disability benefits. During this visit, she learned that the SSA had already been paying auxiliary benefits for her son and his twin sister since 2009, and that the defendant had been collecting the money on his children’s behalf. 

The mother says both children have always resided with her since their birth in 2000, and that they never resided with their father in Queens. The mother also told investigators she was unaware that Conway had been receiving the money.

If convicted of the charges, Conway could face up to 20 years in prison and be ordered to pay restitution. 

“This arrest should serve as a warning to those who choose to defraud Social Security’s disability programs,” said SSA Inspector General Gail Ennis in a statement. “We vigorously pursue fraud allegations and work closely with the United States Attorney’s Offices across the country to bring offenders to justice.” 

Conway was released Wednesday on $200,000 bond.