Federal prosecutors are accusing a Johnson County couple of collecting more than $215,000 in retirement benefits on behalf of a dead relative whose body was hidden in their house for six years.

The husband and wife lived with Mike Carroll, 81, a retired telecommunications employee who began receiving benefits from his pension and the Social Security Administration in 2008. Authorities say Carroll died in 2016, based on a digital record from his pacemaker, but that information was not reported.

Meanwhile, prosecutors say monetary benefits continued to be deposited into Carroll’s bank account and spent after his death.

His body was ultimately found Oct. 23, 2022, after his son-in-law, Kirk Ritter, called police to report his death, according to a police report obtained by The Star.

Overland Park police initially investigated the case as a suspicious death. The Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined Carroll died of natural causes.

The married couple, Lynn Ritter, 61, and Kirk Ritter, 61, each face one count of wire fraud and two counts of theft of government funds, according to felony information entered in the U.S. District of Kansas on Wednesday. Both were issued summonses to appear in court on the charges next month, records show.

Lynn Ritter is Carroll’s daughter. Kirk Ritter is his son-in-law. Prosecutors allege the pair knowingly concealed Carroll’s death until his “mummified” body was discovered on a bed inside his Overland Park residence.

Efforts to reach the Ritters by phone and email were unsuccessful. Court documents did not list a defense attorney representing them in the case Friday.

Extended family members of Carroll told The Star previously that in the 1990s the Ritters moved into the house Carroll had bought with his wife. The Ritters were financially dependent on Carroll and served as his caretakers in his later years, family said.

Family members were also led to believe that Carroll was still alive until his death was reported to police 15 months ago.

During an interview with The Star last year, his niece Janet Carroll, of Iowa, said she and others were given excuses about why he could never take a phone call or visit.

“We were denied contact with him,” she said at the time. “And now we know why.”

The Ritters continued to reside in the home, which was legally owned by Carroll, after his death.

Over the course of six years, prosecutors say there were monthly deposits made to his bank account from his pension and the Social Security Administration amounting to $216,067.

Reviews of his bank records showed checks were written from his bank account and cashed by Lynn and Kirk Ritter during that time, according to court documents. Other bank transfers from his account were also referenced by authorities.

Prosecutors allege the pair concealed Carroll’s death to maintain access to his bank account and for “their own personal benefit.”

The Ritters are due to make an initial appearance on the charges at the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, on Feb. 2.

The Star’s Jenna Thompson contributed to this report.