Syrian man pleads guilty in Detroit federal court to Social Security fraud

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Jan 7, 2026

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DETROIT — A Syrian man has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraud for using his mother's Dearborn address to collect more than $190,000 in Social Security benefits.

Samer Succar, a naturalized United States citizen who resides in Syria, entered the plea Monday in federal court in Detroit, said Jerome Gorgon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

As part of the plea, Succar will pay $190,825 in restitution to the U.S. Social Security Administration, he added.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, Gorgon said. He faces up to 10 years in prison, or a $250,000 fine, or both.

"This thief lied about himself and his mother so that he could live in Syria on the back of the hardworking American taxpayer," Gorgon said. "Americans fund Social Security for our benefit. And Americansare sick and tired of people like this ripping off our country."

Succar's attorney, Fadwa Hammoud, was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Authorities allege that between 2015 and 2025, the defendant continued to collect his mother's Social Security benefits even though she had moved to Syria.

They said Succar was required to notify the government about any changes that could affect her eligibility for benefits, including whether she left the country for a full month or 30 consecutive days.

However, the defendant knowingly and intentionally concealed that his mother left the U.S. in June 2015 for Syria and never returned, investigators said in court documents.

They also said he lied to the Social Security Administration about his mother's foreign travel and residency to obtain her benefits. Officials said Succar reported to the government that he and his mother continued to live together at a home in Dearborn.

Social Security Administration agents filed a federal complaint against Succar in September.

"By hiding his mother’s relocation outside the United States, Samer Succar knowingly continued to collect SSI benefits he was not entitled to receive," said Stephanie Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General in Chicago, which investigated the allegations against the defendant. "This was a calculated deception, and those who abuse programs designed to support vulnerable individuals will be held accountable."

Succar is the latest defendant to be accused of stealing from the government.

Last month, a former Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency employee and her ex-boyfriend were sentenced to prison for defrauding the state of unemployment benefits.

In November, an Upper Peninsula woman pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid of about $8,000 in 2022.

The month before that, three Metro Detroiters accused of defrauding Medicaid with a scheme to submit false mileage reimbursement claims have been charged, state officials said.

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