Felon hid dead uncle in trash can to keep stealing his vets benefits
A Missouri felon who stored his Army veteran uncle's remains in a trash can was charged this week with 11 counts of fraud and theft for illegally pocketing $650,000 in disability benefits while concealing the death for years.
Department of Justice officials said Brian K. Ditch, 44, faces multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and theft of government property. Related, he has also been charged with illegal possession of firearms after investigators looking for his uncle found weapons in the home, in violation of his parole.
Court documents said his uncle, Thomas Clubb, was a disabled veteran suffering from dementia and quadriplegia. Ditch, 44, became Clubb's primary caregiver in 2008.
But investigators charged that Ditch kept his uncle locked in a garage and without proper care for years while stealing his veterans benefits checks, which totaled $9,559 a month. In addition, federal records showed Clubb was sent more than $235,000 in Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Retirement Insurance benefits over the last 17 years.
'Instead of properly caring for his uncle, Ditch trapped him in the garage for over 24 hours at a time, forcing his uncle to sit in his own urine and feces without the ability to eat or drink,' Justice officials said in their indictment release.
Investigators charged that after Clubb died in 2019, Ditch continued to pretend he was alive to keep the federal benefits checks from being halted. They said he used the money to buy exotic reptiles and fund 'lavish vacations' for himself.
When local police searched Ditch's home in March, they reported finding Clubb's partially frozen body in a trash can. Family members told investigators that Ditch claimed his uncle was being cared for by a nursing home, but would not provide details where.
In a statement, Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with the VA Inspector General's Office said the arrest came as the result of cooperation between multiple agencies and law enforcement officials.
'VA's programs and services are established to justly compensate deserving veterans, and the VA Inspector General will bring to justice those who would defraud these programs,' he said.
Prior to this investigation, Ditch was previously convicted for burglary and battery charges. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Friday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Diddy Juror Removed for Inconsistencies About Where He Lives, Rapper's Lawyer Questions Racial Bias
A juror in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial was formally removed from the jury on Monday after he gave inconsistent answers over whether he actually lives in New York. 'The record raised serious concerns as to the juror's candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury,' Judge Arun Subramanian said of Juror No. 6, initially one of two Black men on the jury. 'There's nothing that the juror could say at this point to put the genie back in the bottle.' During jury selection, the man said he lived in the Bronx. However, during Week 5 of the trial last week, he reportedly told a court staff member he recently moved to New Jersey. Subramanian said these inconsistencies showed the former juror's 'lack of candor' on Friday, ultimately upholding his decision to remove the Department of Corrections accountant from the jury on Monday. In response to the judge's Friday comments, one of the rapper's lawyers said the prosecution was making a 'thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.' However, Subramanian insisted: 'From the outset of this proceeding to the current date, there has been no evidence and no showing of any kind of any biased conduct or biased manner of proceeding from the government.' The jury originally consisted of eight men and four women of diverse races. The first alternate is reportedly a white male. Combs has been charged with five counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pled not guilty to all charges. The post Diddy Juror Removed for Inconsistencies About Where He Lives, Rapper's Lawyer Questions Racial Bias appeared first on TheWrap.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Karen Read's verdict could come fast—or not: Here's what other cases show
A former Massachusetts financial analyst accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend in a drunken hit-and-run is awaiting her fate after a second lengthy trial in a small courthouse in Dedham. Karen Read, 45, faces murder and other charges in the death of 46-year-old John O'Keefe, who had taken in his orphaned niece and nephew and appeared to want to end the relationship. Jurors spent just under two hours deliberating Friday and returned Monday for their first full day. "People are out there wondering why we don't have a verdict yet," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is closely following the case. "I think the jury is working hard to understand the requirements of each count and working through them." Read's first trial ended in a hung jury last year after jurors went more than 25 hours over four days without reaching an agreement. Deliberations in other high-profile murder charges range from just hours to several days. OJ Simpson's 1990s double murder trial in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman took nine months to play out. The two were brutally stabbed to death outside Brown Simpson's luxe condo in Los Angeles. The former NFL star's legal "Dream Team" prevailed – and jurors found him not guilty in less than four hours. Simpson was found civilly liable and went to prison for an unrelated robbery more than a decade later. He died last year after a battle with cancer. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB A Florida mom accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, Casey Anthony was tried on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in 2011. Caylee was missing for a month before her grandparents reported her missing. Jurors spent about 11 hours deliberating over two days before reaching an agreement on the charges. They found Anthony not guilty of killing or abusing her daughter, but they found her guilty of lying to police. To this day no one has been convicted of the child's death. In 2004, jurors convicted Scott Peterson of killing his pregnant wife Laci and dumping her in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve two years earlier. Their deliberations went on for seven days after a trial that took more than five months. Jurors initially handed him the death sentence for first-degree murder for Laci's death and second-degree murder for their unborn son, Conner. Peterson continues to maintain his innocence and is currently appealing his case for the third time. He had his death sentence overturned in 2020 and is serving life without parole. Formerly a prominent South Carolina attorney and family man, Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of gunning down his wife and younger son, Maggie and Paul. After a six-week trial – twice as long as initial estimates – jurors deliberated for less than three hours and found him guilty of both murders plus weapons charges. Murdaugh is currently serving consecutive life sentences. He is asking for a new trial after the court clerk on his case was charged with multiple felonies, including allegedly lying to a judge about Murdaugh's case. Although those trials have a wide range of both time and results, New York City defense attorney Louis Gelormino told Fox News Digital that the longer jurors deliberate in Dedham, the better things look for Read. "My first homicide trial was the longest deliberation in NYC, modern history, 9 days," he told Fox News Digital. "Hung Jury. Three months later, they tried him again, and we got an acquittal."
CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Michigan man charged with murder in stabbing death of fiancee
Suspected shooter captured in Minnesota; death investigation in Bedford Township; and more top stori Suspected shooter captured in Minnesota; death investigation in Bedford Township; and more top stori A Waterford Township, Michigan, man accused of stabbing his fiancée to death is facing charges, according to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. Seth Martin, 25, is charged with first-degree murder. Martin was arraigned on Monday and was denied bond. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole. Prosecutors allege that on June 13, 2025, Martin stabbed Mallory Myers in a home. Police responded to the home after Martin called 911 and reported that he had stabbed his fiancée. When officers arrived, Martin directed them inside, where they found Myers dead on the floor in the bathroom. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was stabbed multiple times. Police recovered the suspected weapon in a sink. "Domestic violence is a leading cause of death for women ages 15-44," said Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a statement. "Mallory Myers wasn't a statistic. Her life had purpose, and she should be with us still. We intend to bring Mallory's killer to justice."
