Man in custody for Social Security fraud

A man was charged with exploitation of the elderly after he was caught cashing in his missing wife’s Social Security payments.

According to court documents, Lawrence Warfel Jr. was seen withdrawing money from his wife’s account at an ATM. He allegedly did this from September 2017 to July 2018, which was the time period she was missing.

Her sisters told police the couple had gotten in a fight in September 2017, and they hadn’t heard from her since. When police asked Warfel about his missing wife, he told them she had moved to Florida with a male friend and had asked him to withdraw her Social Security to pay her medical bills.

However, when investigators checked with Moberly Regional Medical Center, they found no payments had been made to her account.

According to the Missouti State Highway Patrol, Penny Warfel has been missing since last September.

Warfel is being held at the Randolph County jail on a $25,000, cash only bond.