PORTLAND — A Lyman man has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for continuing to collect his mother’s Social Security benefits for nearly four years after her death.

Mark LaPierre, 56, who pleaded guilty to the federal charge in April, was sentenced Tuesday at U.S. District Court to one year plus one day in prison, followed by two years supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution of $38,212, the amount he collected in the years following his mother’s death.

In an affidavit on file with the federal court, Social Security Administration special agent Joseph D. DeSantis said Rose LaPierre received Social Security benefits as her husband’s survivor. Her Nov. 23, 2010 death was posted to the Social Security system records accurately on Dec. 9, 2010, but that notification was not crossreferenced to her deceased husband’s account, and so the deposits continued.

On April 4, 2014, the Social Security Tele-Service Center in Boston received an anonymous tip about the fraud and terminated the survivor benefits.

In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court Sept. 29, LaPierre’s attorney, John Geary, recommended his client be sentenced to home confinement, rather than prison.

Geary wrote that sentencing guidelines would require that LaPierre serve a minimum of five months in prison, which he calculated would cost the bureau of prisons upwards of $13,000, plus costs associated with supervised release.

In the memorandum, Geary argued that the inception of the offense was not premeditated, and that LaPierre did not fraudulently apply for benefits. Geary said LaPierre told his him that he believed the funeral home’s notification to the Social Security Administration of his mother’s death would cancel her benefits, but later, when the automatic deposits continued to flow in, he was experiencing financial difficulties and intended to “borrow” the money.

Married, with two adult children, LaPierre is employed as a golf course mechanic, according to Geary’s report. His wife is unable to work for health reasons. Geary wrote that if he were supporting only himself, LaPierre would accept incarceration “as deserved,” but incarceration would result in severe hardship to his wife and he would also lose his job. He pointed out that his client owes $38,000 in restitution.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Jon Levy observed that LaPierre’s crime was a serious offense that continued for 3 1/2 years, that he had collected a significant amount of money and that LaPierre’s action was a negative influence on others. Levy, according to the news release, said prison was necessary to deter LaPierre and others in the public who might be similarly inclined.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].