irene prusik had been dead and buried since 2003. dy in red." also, a note from her son, "love, tom." but thomas parkin, shown here at the funeral home in front of his mother's casket, had much more sinister matters in mind than bereavement. parkin was a con man and a thief who hatched the big lie. an elaborate scheme to impersonate his dead mother for criminal gain. >> he became her. that's exactly what he did. because in his own mind, in his own plan, she needed to still be alive. >> reporter: parkin's incredible ruse started the very day of his mother's funeral. for her death certificate, he provided the funeral director with a fake date of birth and social security number, which means her death was never officially recorded. so the government continued to issue irene's monthly social security checks, and parkin, seen here on a bank surveillance camera, cashed them for himself. parkin was also able to dupe various banks into issuing him credit cards in his dead mother's name. even the court system fell for parkin's scheme. he filed