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NY Man Posed as Dead Mom in Alleged Fraud Scheme
He denies being modern Norman Bates
By John Johnson
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Posted Jun 17, 09 5:14 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Shades of Norman Bates in Psycho: A Brooklyn man accused of dressing up as his dead mom to collect Social Security checks and rent subsidies worth $115,000 has been indicted on 47 counts of grand larceny, forgery, and conspiracy, the New York Daily News reports. Thomas Prusik-Parkin, 49, and his accomplice, who posed as the frail woman's nephew, face 25 years in prison and have pleaded not guilty.
The elaborate 6-year scam began when Prusik-Parkin gave the funeral director the wrong Social Security number for his mother so her death wouldn't register. A man who now owns Prusik-Parkin's foreclosed $2.2 million home tipped off authorities, who weren't fooled by the schemer's red dress, dark sunglasses, and scarf covering his Adam's apple. "He has rather large hands," said one.