Tulare business owner pleads guilty to stealing about $90,000 in Social Security benefits

A Tulare business owner pleaded guilty Monday to stealing about $90,000 in Social Security benefits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fresno announced.

According to court documents, Larry Ramirez, 52, failed to disclose income he had made from owning and operating an auto body repair business in numerous applications to the Social Security Administration for benefits. During the process of determining his benefits, he made a false statement to the SSA that he had not worked in over 15 years, which he knew to be false at the time.

Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on March 28. Ramirez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Tulare business owner pleads guilty to stealing about $90,000 in Social Security benefits."