Nevada man allegedly stole more than $225G of dead wife's Social Security benefits, Nassau DA says

For more than 10 years, authorities said, Lawrence Nadien collected monthly Social Security benefits erroneously issued to his dead wife.

Now, the Nevada man faces 5-15 years in prison, charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office said in a statement on Friday.

According to the district attorney’s office Nadien, 56, collected $2,195 a month between Aug. 24, 2014, and Oct. 21, 2024, a total of about $227,258 in benefits issued to his wife, Donna Spivak. The district attorney’s office said Spivak was receiving the benefits while on disability, but she died Aug. 24, 2014, in the Bronx.

Officials said the payments were issued to a joint account held by Spivak and Nadien at TD Bank registered to an address on Duckpond Drive North in Wantagh. Following an investigation, the Social Security Administration referred the case to the Nassau District Attorney's Office in February. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Nadien by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police on May 22. The district attorney’s office said Nadien was extradited to Long Island by detectives from the Nassau County Police Department’s Fugitive Squad on Thursday.

Arraigned Friday before Judge Colin O’Donnell, Nadien entered a plea of not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.

He is due back in court on June 25.

Counsel for Nadien could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a statement Friday, Nassau District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said: "For a decade, this defendant allegedly continued to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits issued to his wife after her death. Handling the death of a spouse is an incredibly difficult and painful process, but this defendant allegedly ignored multiple attempts by the Social Security Administration to contact him about the erroneous payments. The health of our social safety net is dependent on the honesty of individuals participating in these programs, and my office will pursue criminal charges when there is evidence of theft that impacts these vulnerable populations."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.