A New York City man arrested in an elaborate fraud scheme clearly has Mommy issues.
For six years, 49-year-old Thomas Prusik-Parkin of Brooklyn, N.Y., allegedly impersonated his dead mother to collect Social Security checks and rent subsidies — racking up a total of $115,000, according to the Kings County District Attorney.
He took his ruse so far that he wore a wig, nail polish, dresses and thick makeup, and walked with a cane, the New York Daily News reported. He also had a fake ID and enlisted the help of a friend to pose as his nephew.
Prusik-Parkin was arrested on Monday and arraigned Wednesday, the Kings County D.A. said. He is charged with forgery, conspiracy and grand larceny.
His mother, Irene Prusik, died in 2003 at age 73, according to the paper. Her son's scam allegedly began right afterwards, when investigators say he gave the funeral director the wrong Social Security number and birth date so that her death wouldn't be registered in government records.
He collected her $700-a-month Social Security checks and posed as his mom to file for bankruptcy — a stunt that earned him $39,000, according to authorities.
"I held my mother when she was dying and breathed in her last breath, so I am my mother," detectives quoted Prusik-Parkin as saying when he was taken into custody, according to the Daily News.
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