Unemployed man who ‘wore lots of jewelry’ busted for disability fraud

An Oregon man described as someone who "wore lots of jewelry" and "flashed pictures of trips to Lebanon" was caught in a disability fraud scheme that cost the government more than $200,000.

Jason I. Boutros, 49, bought a silver Mercedes SL500 roadster and a tanning bed with the help of the federal government, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

"An unemployed Southeast Portland man who reportedly wore lots of jewelry, flashed pictures of trips to Lebanon and owned a Mercedes was sentenced to six months of prison Wednesday for cashing disability checks for a sister who was living outside the United States," according to an article by the Oregonian,which was posted on the SSA website on Friday. His prison term begins May 19.

Boutros will also have to pay nearly $221,000 in restitution to the SSA and the Oregon Department of Human Services, for the scheme that involved him and four family members who received disability, Medicaid, and food stamps, even though they lived in Lebanon for "long stretches."

The scheme lasted nearly a decade, from March 2002 to August 2011, according to the indictment. Boutros was receiving disability benefits by electronic payment from the SSA directly into "various" Bank of America accounts.

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