Pearland Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Social Security Fraud Case

PEARLAND, Texas — A Pearland man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty in a large-scale identity theft and government fraud case involving millions of dollars in stolen benefits.

According to federal court records, David Lam, 46, of Pearland, was sentenced to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to steal federal funds.

Federal prosecutors said Lam used his former access as a Social Security Administration employee to submit fraudulent benefit claims using the identities of deceased individuals. Authorities allege he recruited others to pose as relatives of the deceased to help make the claims appear legitimate.

Investigators determined the scheme resulted in more than $4 million in fraudulent government benefit payments.

As part of his sentence, Lam was ordered to repay approximately $4.1 million to the Social Security Administration and the Small Business Administration.

He is expected to self-surrender to begin serving his sentence.

The case was prosecuted in federal court and follows an investigation into improper benefit claims tied to deceased individuals.

Source: Federal court records and reporting from the Houston Chronicle.