Libby contractor arraigned for Social Security fraud

Stanley Daniel Silva of Libby appeared in the Montana 19th Judicial District Court in Libby, Monday, Feb. 25, and pleaded not guilty to a felony charge for theft of property exceeding $5,000 or common scheme.

The charge relates to allegations that Silva defrauded Social Security by receiving benefits he was not entitled to.

Silva was charged on Jan. 17 and was served a summons to appear in Lincoln County Justice Court for an initial appearance.

The Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations, Social Security Administration opened an investigation after an initial referral from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office alleging that Daniel and Christie Silva were concealing their business, Silva Construction, LLC, from the Social Security Administration.

Both Silvas are Title II disability beneficiaries, according to court documents. Daniel Silva became eligible due to “disorders of the back and hypertension” in 2003, and Christie Silva became eligible in 2010 for “osteoporosis, disorder of bone/cartilage.”

In October 2017, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective David Hall was investigating allegations of felony theft and elder abuse related to Silva Construction. The allegations of that case were that the couple had stolen from clients “through various schemes,” according to court documents. During the course of the investigation, Hall discovered that the Silvas were Title II beneficiaries.

Hall contacted the Social Security Administration, and was asked by Jacques Hansen, an investigator with the Office of Inspector General, to question the Silvas about how long their business had been established and whether Daniel Silva had been working in that field prior to the establishment of Silva Construction.

Hansen also requested that Hall ask how many hours Daniel Silva worked each week and his and Christie Silva’s roles in the business, as well as other details related to the nature of the work the Silvas did.

Hall provided the information obtained in the interview to Hansen.

According to Hansen’s summary of the interview, the couple had been employed in contracting work, but were laid off in 2015, and started Silva Construction.

In the course of the interview, Hall informed the Silvas that he could find no record with the Montana Department of Labor that they had a contracting license, though the Silvas claimed to have one. The Silvas responded that they thought their LLC functioned as a contracting license.

Christie Silva told Hall, “We were doing payroll; we were legit,” according to court documents.

Christie Silva also provided Hall with paperwork showing they had unemployment insurance and workers compensation, and they had an enrollment number with the IRS for their business. She said they had three full time employees.

Daniel said they had six employees. He told Hall that he was the boss and that his wife took care of the books.

The Silvas also acknowledged doing work “under the table” and separate from their business.

In court documents, Hansen noted that neither of the Silvas had reported to the Social Security Administration that they were employed in any way.

During the investigation, Hansen was able to determine that Daniel Silva was ineligible for SSDI between June 2016 and December 2017, and that he was overpaid $41,693 as a result.

The final interview with Daniel Silva occurred on May 15, 2018 in Kalipsell with Field Manager Terra Whitman and Hansen. Upon the conclusion of the interview and with the previously provided information, the investigative report was sent to Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris for prosecution.

Silva will appear again for an omnibus hearing on May 6, a pretrial hearing July 8 and a trial has been set for the week of August 13.