The odds are oftentimes not in the favor of those who try and successfully commit workers compensation fraud.
Case in point, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Robert M. Fowler, 61, of York Springs, Pennsylvania, was sentenced recently for workers comp fraud involving $24,934.68 of benefits he was not entitled to receive.
U.S. District Court Judge William Caldwell sentenced Mr. Fowler to three months’ imprisonment to be followed by two years’ supervised release and ordered him to pay $23,792.00 in restitution. Fowler was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by March 25, 2015.
According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Fowler sustained an on-the-job injury in 1999 while working at the Defense Industrial Plant Equipment Center in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and began receiving federal workers comp benefits from the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP) shortly thereafter.
Recipients of these benefits are required to submit forms to OWCP on a periodic basis to insure they are still eligible to receive the benefits.
Defendant Admits to Lying on Several Forms
Fowler previously admitted that he lied on several forms he submitted to OWCP because he falsely claimed he was not incarcerated during the prior 15 months for a felony and was residing with his wife.
In fact, Fowler was in the Adams County Jail between September 2012 and July 2013 and had not resided with his wife between October 2010 and March 2014. As a result of the false statements, OWCP paid Fowler $24,934.18 which he was not entitled to receive.
Fowler was charged in criminal Information filed in the U.S. District Court in July 2014.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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