A businessman and former St. Louis aldermanic candidate on Wednesday admitted committing Social Security disability fraud by falsely claiming to be unable to work for years.

Justin Idleburg, 47, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of theft of government money. 

He admitted that from January 2019 to May 2024, he failed to report his business activities and income from grants to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and exaggerated his symptoms to remain medically eligible for benefits. 

He fraudulently received a total of $51,388.50.

Idleburg initially began receiving Social Security disability benefits in January 2007. His disability determination was reviewed in 2018 and 2024, when he reported mental health symptoms and difficulty getting along with others. Despite those claims, beginning as early as 2017, Idleburg was involved in multiple community organizations, organized and attended public events, ran for the St. Louis Board of Alderman in 2019 and started two businesses, he admitted in his plea agreement. 

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In March 2019, he formed Idleburg Consultants, LLC and listed himself as the principal. In 2020, his social media showed him volunteering at the polls for an election event. In 2022, Idleburg posted a photo of a chancellor’s certificate he received from the University of Missouri St. Louis in economic development.

In August of 2023, Idleburg registered Cabanne District Community Development Corporation and listed himself as president. He applied for and received $67,000 in grants for his business and deposited the grants in bank accounts he failed to disclose to the SSA. In 2023, he also participated in multiple media interviews regarding his businesses and spoke to lawmakers in Jefferson City regarding cultural bias in the energy sector.

Idleburg is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison.


The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Cooperative Disability Investigations program investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. 

The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.