BRIEF Man gets prison time for Social Security fraud

Robin Fitzgerald

Jul. 29, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- GULFPORT -- An Ocean Springs man has been ordered to serve 27 months in prison and must repay nearly $188,000 in disability benefits he fraudulently obtained.

Edward J. Bailey, aka Eugene Parzych, used a false name and Social Security number at another job while claiming disability payments under his real name, federal court records show.

Bailey, 65, was sentenced last week on a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr.

Bailey received $196,386.30 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration while working under a false identity between March 1994 and May 2007. The SSA recovered $8,848.20 before sentencing.

SSA officials said an anonymous tip prompted the federal investigation.

Court records show Bailey must report to prison after he is notified of a location and date to turn himself in. He has remained free on $25,000 bond.

Guirola has ordered him to make monthly payments of $1,000 toward restitution. After release from prison, Bailey will be on probation for three years.

The case was prosecuted by Ruth Morgan, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0021-27003525