A Nevada man has been indicted in Nassau County after prosecutors alleged he collected more than $227,000 in Social Security disability benefits issued to his deceased wife through an account linked to a Wantagh address for nearly a decade after her death.
Lawrence Nadien, 56, was arraigned on one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a C felony. He pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.
If convicted, Nadien faces up to 5 to 15 years in prison. He is due back in court on June 25, 2026.
According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, the case began after the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General referred allegations involving disability benefits issued to Donna Spivak.
Investigators determined that Spivak died on Aug. 24, 2014, in the Bronx while receiving Social Security disability benefits. Nadien was listed as the informant on her death certificate.
At the time, Spivak was receiving $2,195 per month through direct deposits into a TD Bank account jointly held by her and Nadien. Prosecutors said the Social Security Administration’s last address of record for the benefits was on Duckpond Drive North in Wantagh.
According to the investigation, the monthly payments continued after Spivak’s death and were deposited into the joint account. Bank records allegedly showed Nadien regularly withdrew and transferred the funds into another TD Bank account for his personal use.
Prosecutors allege that between Aug. 24, 2014, and Oct. 21, 2024, when federal authorities requested the payments be terminated, Nadien fraudulently received approximately $227,258 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
“For a decade, this defendant allegedly continued to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits issued to his wife after her death,” Donnelly said. “Handling the death of a spouse is an incredibly difficult and painful process, but this defendant allegedly ignored multiple attempts by the Social Security Administration to contact him about the erroneous payments.”
The investigation was part of a federal initiative designed to identify potentially deceased Social Security beneficiaries whose deaths were not reported and whose benefits remained active.
Amy Connelly, special agent-in-charge of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Boston-New York Field Division, said the defendant allegedly failed to report his wife’s death while continuing to receive benefits issued in her name.
Authorities arrested Nadien in Nevada on May 22, 2026, with assistance from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He was extradited to Nassau County on June 11, 2026, by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Fugitive Squad.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
