A Xenia, Ohio, advisor barred by Finra in 2011 for stealing from a church today was sentenced in federal court to two years in prison for stealing more than $370,000 in Social Security disability benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Last March, a grand jury indicted Charles Edward Severt, Jr., for allegedly claiming disability benefits in July 2016 on the grounds that he had not worked since 2010 because of an injury sustained when he was victimized in a shooting that September. In actuality, he had been working in the tree trimming industry since 2014, the indictment filing said.
In addition, he claimed he lost his securities license in June 2010 for not reporting to his firm at the time, ING Financial Partners, that he had a side business flipping houses. In truth, he was fired for stealing $20,000 from a church in Xenia where he served as treasurer, the indictment said. Finra barred him permanently in March 2011 over this incident, according to BrokerCheck.
At the time, he was granted disability benefits. Then on July 22, 2017, the Social Security office met with Severt to determine whether he should continue receiving those benefits, and once again he said he had not worked since 2010, the indictment said. In all, between December 2016 and April 2019, Severt received $370,928 in benefits, and as part of his sentencing he will repay the full amount to the government.
Severt’s public defender, Thomas Anderson, could not be reached by press time.
The various falsehoods aside, Severt had, in fact, been shot in Sept. 2010, reported the Dayton Daily News. He was shot twice by his wife at the time, Leah Severt, who allegedly had been incited by her lover, Mark Roysdon, a former Dayton and Miamisburg police officer, the Dayton Daily News reported. Leah Severt was sentenced to four years in prison and her lover to 18 months for their roles in the shooting.