St. Paul Man Sentenced for Making False Statement

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A St. Paul, Virginia man, who lied about his employment status in order to continue to collect disability benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Ronald W. David, 58, of St. Paul, Va., previously pled guilty to one count of making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements. Today in District Court, David was sentenced to two years of probation to include six months of home confinement. David paid restitution to the Railroad Retirement Board in the amount of $70,206.

According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell, on July 25, 2015, David knowingly made a willfully false statement and representation to the Railroad Retirement Board by failing to report his self-employment with Copperhead Road Properties LLC. As part of the defendant’s eligibility for disability benefits, he was required to report all information regarding employment to the Railroad Retirement Board.

The investigation of the case was conducted by Special Agent Patrick Fletcher of the Office of Inspector General U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Carnell prosecuted the case for the United States.