Tendered resignation letter in August
By Alex Rose
PHILADELPHIA — A suspended Nether Providence attorney sentenced in
federal court earlier this year on charges of wire fraud, Social
Security fraud and theft from an employee benefit fund has been
officially disbarred, according to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order
issued Friday.
Daniel Vermeychuk, 66, of the Wallingford section of Nether Providence, pleaded guilty in November before U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno and was subsequently temporarily suspended from practicing law in the commonwealth by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board.
He was sentenced in June to serve three years of probation and fined $40,000. Vermeychuk was also ordered to pay restitution of $59,491, pay a $600 special assessment and serve six months of his probation on house arrest.
Vermeychuk was charged with four counts of wire fraud, one count of Social Security fraud and one count of theft from an employee benefit fund in March 2019 following an investigation by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
According to an indictment, Vermeychuk obtained nearly $60,000 worth of Social Security and pension benefit funds intended for a deceased tenant of an apartment building owned by his wife.
The tenant, identified as “J.B.” in the indictment, had added Vermeychuk to a bank account receiving the SSA and pension payments in 2003, according to the indictment. Vermeychuk found the tenant dead inside his apartment in July 2013, but never informed SSA or the pension plan of J.B.’s death.
Payments from both continued to go into the account between July 2013 and April 2017, according to the indictment. Vermeychuk withdrew these funds, totaling $59,491, and converted them to his own use, according to the indictment.
Vermeychuk tendered an unconditional resignation to the disciplinary board in August indicating restitution, fees and costs associated with his conviction have been paid. He also acknowledged that the underlying facts of the indictment are true and that he could not successfully defend against charges of professional misconduct.
The disbarment was made retroactive to the date of Vermeychuk’s Feb. 13, 2020, suspension at his request. He may apply for reinstatement after five years from that date under state rules for disciplinary enforcement.
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