Disability Law

Montana Woman Guilty of Mail and Wire Fraud in Fraudulent WC Scheme

By David A. McCranie, Esq.

Section 440.105(4)(b), Fla. Stat., makes it unlawful for any person knowingly to make any false, incomplete, or misleading statement in support or denial of any benefit under the Florida Workers' Compensation Law.  And as a recent case from Montana illustrates, if the U.S. Mail or wire services are used to facilitate the making of those false statements, they may violate federal law as well.

Bonnie Schreiber, an employee of the U.S Postal Service, injured her back on the job and also developed carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of her employment. Since 1986 she had received disability benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act because of those injuries, and since that time she had periodically submitted OWCP Form 1032, which  requires a recipient to report to the U.S. Department of Labor any work or earnings within the previous 15 months and to report any improvement in her condition.  She always reported that she had been unemployed and that she was incapable of employment.

Surveillance evidence, however, showed otherwise.  Schreiber was videotaped engaging in a variety of activities, including bending, twisting, loading and unloading firewood, moving logs and garbage cans, carrying 32-lb. cinder blocks, driving a tractor, and operating a chain saw.  Based on this evidence, she was charged with stealing money from the U.S. government.  In addition, however, because she had used the U.S. Mail to send in her Form 1032, she was indicted for mail fraud (18 U.S.C. §1341) and because her monthly disability benefits were deposited electronically into her bank account, she was indicted for wire fraud (18 U.S.C. §1343).  You can read the indictment here.  On October 1, she was convicted on all four counts of the indictment.  Sentencing is scheduled for January 8.  Press coverage is available here.

Full post as published by Florida Workers’ Compensation Law Blog on November 02, 2008 (boomark / email).