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Fargo Man Pleads Guilty To Receiving Dead Relative’s Social Security Disability Benefits

By Alex Carmenaty Oct 7, 2026 | 7:15 AM

(KNOX/KVRR) –A 34-year-old Fargo man has pleaded guilty to stealing over $52,000 from the Social Security Administration.

Zachary Femling appeared in United States District Court in Bismarck on a felony charge of Theft of Government Property.

Court documents say that Femling falsely collected  his deceased relative’s Social Security disability insurance benefits and used them from August 2021 to January 2026.

He did not inform the Social Security Administration of his relative’s death and stole a total of $52,176.

He will be sentenced on January 11 in Bismarck.

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