Poway man hid mother’s death for 32 years, collected more than $800,000 in benefits

A 65-year-old Poway man has admitted to hiding his mother’s death for more than 30 years and using her identity to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits that were meant for her.

Donald Felix Zampach pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego on Tuesday to Social Security fraud and money laundering, which federal prosecutors said resulted in the theft of more than $830,000 in public funds over more than three decades.

“This crime is believed to be the longest running and largest fraud of its kind in this district,� U.S. Atty. Randy Grossman of the Southern District of California. “This defendant didn’t just passively collect checks mailed to his deceased mother. This was an elaborate fraud spanning more than three decades that required aggressive action and deceit to maintain the ruse.�

It began after Zampach’s mother, identified in court records as S.T.Z., was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer sometime in 1990 and moved to Japan, where she had been born.

Meanwhile, back in Southern California, Zampach filed for personal bankruptcy.

After his mother died in Japan on Oct. 22, 1990, Zampach notified the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo about her death, but intentionally omitted her Social Security number on the form so that her monthly benefit checks would continue to be deposited into her bank accounts.

According to the plea agreement, Zampach admitted to obtaining a home refinance loan for $126,000 for a Poway residence that was under his mother’s name, though it was really owned and controlled by him.

He received his mother’s Social Security and Defense Department survivor benefits and more than $12,000 from filing false tax returns in her name. He also opened multiple credit card accounts in her name.

When a special agent from the Social Security Administration contacted him in 2022, Zampach insisted that his mother was still alive and living in Japan.

According to his plea agreement, Zampach has agreed to pay more than $830,000 in fines and restitution, including relinquishing his house in Poway.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20.