Workers Compensation Fraud—New York

Amount: $1.2 Million

A New York man faked being wheel-chair bound for more than a decade to net $1.2 million in fraudulent disability benefits. He had worked at the post office when he was suffering from legitimate health issues, including serious hip, spine, neck and knee injuries, which were exploited into a monstrous workers compensation claim. While his claims were under suspicion, federal agents claim to have seen him driving to the VA, getting out of the car, and lifting and opening his wheelchair without help, only to be pushed into the medical facility by his wife. Several of his neighbors were prepared to testify that they had seen him hunting, bicycling, chopping wood, and playing horseshoes all while being “wheelchair bound”. When he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, he agreed to pay back the money he took, forfeited his property, and made an additional payment of over $300,000. He received a sentence of up to thirty-two months in prison, while his wife received three months of probation.