Ozark business owner sentenced to prison for stealing father's Social Security benefits

A man who lives and owns a business in Ozark will be going to federal prison after he was found guilty of perjury and using his father’s Social Security checks to pay his own expenses.

Michael Sylvara, 39, formerly of Harrisonville, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to two years and three months in federal prison without parole. He was also ordered to pay $42,369 in restitution to the U.S. government.

Sylvara is the co-owner of Volleyball Beach Ozark, the second-largest indoor sand facility in the world, and maintains a real estate license.

He was originally indicted for Social Security fraud.

Sylvara, who oversaw his disabled father’s Social Security benefits from 2016 to 2019, converted $42,369 of his father’s benefits to his own use, according to a news release. Sylvara testified in his own defense during a trial in October 2022, which resulted in a hung jury.

On March 23, 2023, Sylvara was found guilty at trial of one count of Social Security fraud and one count of perjury.

Sylvara was designated as the representative payee for his father, who is now deceased. In that role, he was legally obligated to use all of the benefit payments to meet his father’s needs.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Sylvara instead converted some of his father’s benefit payments for his personal use to pay his utility, insurance and student loan bills, as well as his realtor association fees, over a period of 30 months.

A witness at the October 2022 trial testified that she purchased basic necessities for Sylvara’s father, including clothes, underwear, socks, and a pair of shoes, without being reimbursed.

She also testified that the only items in his father’s refrigerator were water, bread, cat food and condiments. She described seeing Sylvara’s father eat cat food.

Sylvara attempted to justify multiple cash withdrawals totaling over $23,000, claiming under oath he had a written agreement with the Social Security Administration that he could be paid $14 an hour for taking care of his father. But no such agreement was found.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Ozark business owner sentenced for stealing Social Security benefits