York Springs Man Sentenced To Prison For Workers' Compensation Fraud

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Robert M. Fowler, 61, of York Springs, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday for workers' compensation fraud involving $24,934.68 of benefits he was not entitled to receive.  U.S. District Court Judge William W. 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' compensation 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.

Fowler previously admitted that he lied on several forms he submitted to OWCP because he falsely claimed he was not incarcerated during the prior fifteen 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 a criminal Information filed in the U.S. District Court in July 2014.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and was assigned to Bruce Brandler, Chief of the Criminal Division, for prosecution.