Robert M. Fowler, Workers' Compensation Fraud, Pennsylvania 2014

Fowler's 24-year scam caught up with him as he was sentenced to three months in prison for workers' compensation fraud.

Robert M. Fowler, a 61-year-old man from York Springs, Pennsylvania, was led away in handcuffs yesterday after a lengthy investigation uncovered his scheme to swindle the government out of $24,934.68 in benefits he was not entitled to receive.

The scheme, which spanned over a decade, began in 1999 when Fowler, then an employee at the Defense Industrial Plant Equipment Center in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, sustained an on-the-job injury and started receiving federal workers' compensation benefits from the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP).

However, Fowler's deceit kicked in when he submitted false statements to OWCP, claiming he was not incarcerated during the prior fifteen months for a felony and was residing with his wife. In reality, Fowler was behind bars at the Adams County Jail between September 2012 and July 2013 and had not lived with his wife between October 2010 and March 2014.

As a result of Fowler's false statements, OWCP paid him $24,934.68 in benefits, a sum he was not entitled to receive. U.S. District Court Judge William W. Caldwell handed down the sentence, ordering Fowler to serve three months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and to pay $23,792.00 in restitution.

Fowler was given until March 25, 2015, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Bruce Brandler, Chief of the Criminal Division.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the sentencing, highlighting the importance of protecting the integrity of the workers' compensation system.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/york-springs-man-sentenced-prison-workers-compensation-fraud