Bennett, four relatives indicted for bilking the government

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 9:44 a.m.

Marine Staff Sgt. Arthur Bennett currently faces a military court-martial and also faces murder and other charges in state District Court. He pleaded no contest in St. George, Utah last year to three felony charges of sexual abuse of two of his daughters and another minor.

"It is the Department of Justice's position that a cruel hoax and a major fraud was committed on the American people," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rimantas Rukstele, who is prosecuting the new case.

Facing the federal conspiracy charge with Bennett are his ex-wife, Amelia; his mother, Ellen; and brothers David and Scott. His ex-wife lives in St. George and the other relatives live in Las Vegas.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt issued bench warrants Wednesday for all the defendants and scheduled their arraignments for April 30.

Bennett is currently awaiting trial June 7 in state District Court here on charges of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and arson. Clark County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of the murder charge.

The state charges stem from the discovery of a charred body in Bennett's burned trailer on Feb. 3, 1994 near Lake Mead. The sexual assault charges stem from an allegation that he attacked the oldest of his three daughters in an RV park at Sam's Town.

Police originally believed the burned body was that of Bennett, based on findings of a military dentist. Bennett was awaiting court-martial on charges of sexually assaulting a fellow Marine's daughter at the time of the incident. Police believed at the time he had committed suicide.

Authorities claim he faked his own death to avoid prosecution and killed someone else in the trailer fire.

Bennett is also facing a new court-martial on charges ranging from desertion to sexual misconduct. No date has been set for those proceedings.

Several young witnesses, including Bennett's two oldest daughters, testified at a military hearing earlier this year that he had either molested them or raped them.

In Wednesday's indictment, the government claims Bennett and the others faked his death to help him avoid prosecution and enrich themselves illegally.

The indictment claims Ellen Bennett, the principal beneficiary on Bennett's life insurance policy, received a check for about $200,000 in May 1994 from Servicemen's Group Life Insurance, which provides life insurance for servicemen and women. The program is authorized by federal law and is administered by the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration.

The indictment claims the money was distributed to members of Bennett' family.

The indictment accuses Amelia Bennett of receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration and the VA.