44-year-old Brian K. Ditch is charged with four counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of theft of government property, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court documents.

"For over a decade, defendant Brian K. Ditch regularly abused and imprisoned his uncle — a quadriplegic Army veteran — in order to steal his government disability benefits," stated an indictment filed by federal authorities in the Eastern District of Missouri. "After years of exploitation, neglect, and internment at the hands of the defendant, [the victim] died while he was in the exclusive custody of the defendant."

Prosecutors allege that Ditch concealed his uncle's 2019 death by hiding the body in a backyard shed for more than five years, according to KSDK.

"To continue his fraud scheme, defendant Ditch concealed [the victim’s] death — for at least five years — including by wrapping veteran T.C.’s dead body up in a trash bag and stuffing him into a garbage can," the indictment said. "Through his lies and acts of concealment, the defendant stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in veteran T.C.'s disability benefits that the defendant used — not to care for his quadriplegic uncle — but to enrich himself personally."

Ditch began serving as his uncle's primary caregiver in 2008 and allegedly "frequently imprisoned and abused" the disabled veteran to take his benefits from Veterans Affairs and Social Security. The indictment claims Ditch trapped his uncle in a garage for over 24 hours at a time, forcing him to sit in his own waste without food or water.

Ditch allegedly disguised the theft by sending himself $1,000 from his uncle's bank account at regular intervals to "make it appear as though the Defendant was receiving a regular paycheck for his [caregiving] duties." However, prosecutors say the uncle never approved any payments to Ditch.

After the uncle's death, Ditch allegedly misled family members by claiming the uncle had been moved to a nursing home and told law enforcement that the veteran had left with another caretaker, according to Fox2Now.

Authorities discovered the uncle's body in a trash can in a shed behind his home during a search warrant execution on March 21, 2025.

Records indicate that between 2008 and 2025, the uncle deposited $1,878,501.39 into various accounts, with authorities alleging Ditch stole "at least $650,000" after his uncle's death.