A Topsham couple accused of taking more than $93,000 from Social Security payments intended for their twin disabled daughters appeared in federal court in Portland on fraud charges Thursday.

Jill Gerken, 61, and Thomas Gerken, 62, each had been issued a summons last month to appear in U.S. District Court to face charges of Social Security fraud. Jill Gerken also is accused of making a false statement in Social Security filings.

The Gerkens were never arrested in the case and were allowed to remain free on a personal recognizance bond after the court hearing before Magistrate Judge John Rich III.

The Social Security Administration began investigating the Gerkens in July 2013 after receiving a complaint from the Progressive Housing Association, which houses their daughters, Elise and Shana Gerken. The 28-year-old twins have mental disabilities and cerebral palsy, according to court records.

They first began living at an assisted living facility in Topsham in 2004 and began receiving Social Security disability income to pay for their housing in an account administered by their mother, according to a 12-page complaint filed with the court by Joseph DeSantis, a Social Security Administration agent.

Starting in 2006, the twins were transferred to a full-time care facility elsewhere in Topsham. In October 2006, their parents stopped paying their daughter’s room and board, but continued to provide them with spending money, the complaint states.

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Then in 2007, Thomas Gerken lost his job selling recreational vehicle insurance, which paid him more than $100,000 in 2006. The Gerkens then began diverting federal money intended to pay for their daughters’ expenses to themselves, DeSantis wrote.

By May 2013, the Gerkens owed nearly $95,000 in unpaid room and board for their daughters, he wrote.

“Jill and Thomas Gerken admitted that while they did spend some of the SSI on their daughters’ needs, Jill and Thomas Gerken used a large portion of the SSI for their own needs, to include paying the monthly mortgage on their home,” DeSantis wrote.

If convicted, the Gerkens will each face up to three years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines for each charge.


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