United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Frequent South Lake Tahoe Skier Indicted for Workers’ Compensation Fraud
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Thursday, December 06, 2012 |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment today against Mark E. Leung, 58, of South Lake Tahoe, charging him with wire fraud, mail fraud, and making a false statement to obtain federal workers’ compensation, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
The indictment alleges that Leung worked for the United States Postal Service until 1987 when he claimed he sustained a work-related injury. Leung never returned to fulltime employment with the Postal Service and began receiving workers’ compensation benefits. From September 2007 through November 2012, Leung received approximately $160,000 from the Department of Labor, which administers the program for the United States Postal Service. To obtain the benefits, Leung submitted an annual certification form and also had his medical providers attest that he could not perform any work due to the pain he suffered that limited his mobility and range of movement. In fact, as alleged in the indictment, Leung was not so disabled. Among other things, while claiming he was totally disabled from employment, Leung maintained a yearly ski pass for Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe where he regularly skied for at least 40 days per ski season. Moreover, Leung was as also observed performing arduous physical labor on numerous days.
This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General and the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Todd Pickles is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Leung faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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