Markus Effinger and Gloria Sevilla charged in $200G fraud of Social Security Administration, DA says

Two Long Islanders have been charged in separate incidents that saw them allegedly defraud the Social Security Administration out of more than $200,000 in disability and retirement benefits, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Friday.

In one case, the district attorney's office said Gloria Sevilla, 58, of Valley Stream, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment this week — charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny for allegedly collecting more than $137,000 in fraudulently acquired retirement benefits.

In the other case, officials said Markus Effinger, 55, of Uniondale, pleaded not guilty after being charged with second-degree grand larceny for allegedly collecting more than $72,000 in fraudulent disability benefits.

If convicted, both defendants face up to 15 years in prison. Sevilla is scheduled to appear back in court on Nov. 16. Effinger is next scheduled to appear Oct. 18.

“Millions of people rely on Social Security disability and retirement benefits every day to make ends meet,” Donnelly said in a statement. She added: “These defendants allegedly took advantage of a system designed to protect the most vulnerable from financial stress and stole tens of thousands of dollars of benefits to which they were not entitled. We must protect these vital services for the people who need them most.”

Officials said both investigations were referred to the district attorney's office by the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General.

The district attorney's office said that according to SSA regulations, an individual is eligible to collect SSI benefits "if they are deemed to have a disability and the applicant has less than $2,000 in monthly resources."

Recipients are required to report any income or asset changes.

Officials said in June 2014, March 2015 and November 2018, Effinger provided information that enabled him to continue to receive benefits — and said he claimed to live with family, pay $500 a month in rent and had "just over $100 in bank account resources."

But, officials said, an investigation determined Effinger and his fiancee were 50% managing members in a company called Dash Xpress, where they also were drivers, and that Department of Health and bank records showed the DOH had paid Dash Xpress more than $2.2 million since 2015. As a result, the district attorney's office said between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 24, 2022, Effinger fraudulently received $72,839 in SSD benefits — benefits to which he was not entitled.

In the other case, officials said Sevilla "jointly controlled" a bank account belonging to a dead woman, failing to report that the woman had died in 2015 — while collecting $137.109 between her death and Oct. 3, 2022. In 2016 and 2017, officials said Sevilla made withdrawals from the account to pay debit card charges at Home Depot, Aboff Paints and at local lumberyards for items purchased for the defendant's home improvement business. Sevilla held a New York City Department of Consumer Affairs home improvement salesperson license, the release said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”