Lakewood man gets prison in $1 million pension scam

JEFFERSON COUNTY – A Lakewood man who admitted that he conned the state’s Old Age Pension fund out of $1 million over a period of eight years was sentenced to six years in prison Monday.

Jeffrey Dan Van, 48, recruited more than 45 elderly Vietnamese residents of other states to apply for pension benefits in Colorado between January 2001 and the end of 2008, keeping the majority of the money for himself, prosecutors said. None of the applicants recruited by Van were eligible for the Colorado pension benefits.

Van told them they could receive the benefits in Colorado even though they were not eligible in the states where they live. These older Vietnamese men and women, who do not speak English, traveled to Colorado to meet with Van.

Investigators believe they all are in the U.S. legally and that most are sponsored by family members who are U.S. citizens.

Van accompanied the elderly Vietnamese men and women to the Human Services Department in Golden and, acting as interpreter, signed them up to receive the $629 monthly benefit for each person who was approved. An elderly couple could collect $1,258 a month.

Van helped them register them in the program, using his home address or that of one of his relatives living in Jefferson County.

The pension benefit was distributed to the participants in the form of debit cards that could be used to withdraw cash or for purchases. Van paid the recipients a small amount and keep the rest for himself, prosecutors said.

“This was a lengthy and extremely difficult investigation,” said District Attorney Scott Storey. “All of the witnesses lived out of state and did not speak English. Based on many interviews, it still isn’t clear if they understood what Van was doing and their role in this fraudulent activity. Investigators for the Jefferson County Department of Human Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) worked closely with our investigators and did an excellent job in this case.”

Van’s attorney said in court Monday that Van has been receiving disability income for the past 22 years.

After the prosecutor told District Court Judge Brooke Jackson they believe Van had taken over a million dollars and that he put all his assets in the name of family members, Jackson said it is troubling that Van had lived on disability while taking these OAP payments that he was not entitled to.

In sentencing Van, Jackson said he considers white-collar crime as serious as any crimes he sees in his courtroom and that anything short of a prison sentence would not be appropriate punishment or as a deterrent to others.

Lynn Johnson, Jeffco’s director of  Human Services, said she’s glad the case is over.

“Our investigators worked over several years to bring this case to justice,” she said. “It is our intent now to work with our state legislature to ensure that any relevant laws are tightened to prevent this type of fraudulent activity from occurring again.”

Van pled guilty to felony theft and forgery, also a felony, in July.