A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carrier has been sentenced on a federal charge in Maryland for making false statements to obtain disability compensation.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Ronald S. Repass, age 57, of Poolesville, Maryland, to five years of probation on the federal charge of making false statements or fraud to obtain federal employees’ disability compensation. Repass was also ordered to pay restitution of $22,000.
Repass admitted that he falsely claimed his inability to work, even though he had worked at various paid jobs between June 2016 and February 2019.
As stated in the indictment, the Department of Labor’s Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs (OWCP) administered major disability compensation programs that provided wage loss benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation and other benefits for federal government employees who became disabled while performing their duties.
Beginning in October 1989, Repass was employed by the USPS at the Poolesville Post Office in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to the indictment. He was a rural carrier on December 5, 2014, when he filed a workers’ compensation claim after he fell and hurt his right shoulder.
OWCP granted his claim on February 11, 2015, for a right rotator cuff tear based on a finding that Repass was not able to perform any of the routine duties of his job. Repass began receiving benefits of approximately $3,227 per month on February 22, 2015.
The Department of Labor required disabled employees to annually sign and complete a form certifying that they had not worked for the past 15 months. The disabled employees were also required to immediately report any improvement in their medical condition or any part-time or full-time employment.
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, Repass signed and submitted the form stating that he had not worked for any employer, nor was he self-employed or involved in a business enterprise. During those years however, Repass worked part-time as a snow plow driver, as a service advisor at an automotive repair shop, as a field supervisor for a home improvement company, as a plumber, and he installed window blinds and mowed lawns, all in exchange for compensation.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland
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