Federal Workers Comp Fraud - Federal Employee Cases
You filed a FECA claim after getting hurt on the job. The government reviewed your paperwork, approved your benefits, and started sending you monthly checks. You're a federal employee. You were legitimately injured. The system is working the way it's supposed to work.
The investigation started the day your benefits began.
The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General doesn't just process your claim and move on. They build files. They cross-reference databases. They monitor social media. They coordinate with five other federal agencies to track every dollar you earn, every gym you visit, every Facebook post where you look a little too healthy. The FECA program paid out $3.26 billion in benefits last fiscal year - and the government wants to make sure you deserve every penny. One false statement on your annual certification form can transform a legitimate workplace injury into federal prison time.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We defend federal employees facing FECA fraud investigations and prosecutions. If you're receiving workers' compensation benefits and you're worried about an investigation - or if federal agents have already contacted you - this article explains exactly how these cases work and what you're up against.
They're Watching Everything
The DOL Office of Inspector General has a division dedicated entirely to FECA fraud. Since October 2008, they've removed 476 claimants from the Postal Service program alone - and recovered more than $83 million in judgments. The Postal Service pays over $1 billion in FECA benefits annually. They have every incentive to find people who shouldn't be recieving them.
The surveillance is more extensive then most people realize.
Gym memberships. Social media accounts. State employment databases. IRS records. They're cross-referencing everything. One postal worker in Florida was caught because investigators obtained surveillance footage from her fitness center. The video showed her exercising four to five days per week, typically for one to two hours per visit. She was participating in group fitness classes. Using weight machines. Consistently exceeding what she told her doctors she could do.
Two physicians who had previously examined her viewed that gym footage. Both confirmed she had misrepresented her physical condition to them.
Thats how these cases get built.
And heres the trap that catches most people. If your truly disabled, you cant work - so any work activity proves your not actually disabled. If you can work in some limited capacity, you're required to report every dollar of income you earn. Miss one payment from a friend who hired you to help with something? You've just committed federal fraud. The injury might have been real. The pain might still be real. But the moment you don't disclose income, your legitimate claim becomes a criminal case.
Heres what you must certify annually:
- You have not been employed
- You have not received income from any source
- You have not been involved in any business enterprise
- Your medical condition has not substantially improved
- You have not added or removed dependents
Every one of those statements is checked against federal databases. The DOL-OIG doesn't operate alone. They coordinate with USPS-OIG, SSA-OIG, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and VA-OIG. Your FECA claim gets cross-referenced with your Social Security records, your tax returns, your state employment records. One major investigation involved five separate federal agencies working together.
And when they catch you, the consequences hit from three directions at once.
Criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1920 - up to five years in federal prison if the fraud exceeds $1,000. Civil liability under the False Claims Act - treble damages, meaning you pay back three times what you took. Administrative termination of all current and future FECA benefits. All three happen simultaneously.
Most people dont understand that last part.
A federal criminal conviction for FECA fraud automaticaly terminates all your benefits - even if your original injury was completley legitimate. You could have been genuinely hurt. You could still be genuinely disabled. But the moment you're convicted of fraud, every benefit stops. Past. Present. Future. Gone.
The Cases That Should Scare You
These arent hypotheticals. Real federal employees. Real prison sentences.
Elizabeth Torres worked as a Corrections Officer for the Bureau of Prisons. She filed for FECA benefits claiming a debilitating knee injury that made it impossible for her to work. For years, she submitted annual certifications stating she wasn't employed, wasn't earning income, wasn't involved in any business.
She was actualy working full-time the entire time.
Torres collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in FECA benefits while maintaining full-time employment. When investigators caught up with her, she pleaded guilty to federal workers' compensation fraud. In 2023, she was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.
A postal worker in Florida collected $535,000 in FECA benefits over fourteen years while secretly working as a home caretaker. She was paid over $60,000 by two elderly women she cared for. She also collected $46,000 in Social Security Disability benefits she wasnt entitled to.
The investigation was joint - DOL-OIG and SSA-OIG working together. Surveillance at her gym showed her consistantly exceeding her stated medical restrictions. She ended up with two years probation, four months home confinement, and orders to pay back more than $95,000. But the real punishment: all her future FECA benefits were terminated permanently. The government estimated that saved them $662,000 in payments she would have otherwise recieved.
$60,000 in caretaker income over several years cost her $662,000 in future benefits.
The government also prosecutes healthcare providers. One investigation into pharmacy billing fraud resulted in 13 indictments - all 13 defendants pleaded guilty. Sentences ranged from 18 months to 20 years in federal prison. The schemes involved $126 million in fraudulent billing. If your doctor or physical therapist is under investigation for FECA billing fraud, you may become a witness. Or a co-defendant.
Look - your injury may have been real. The pain may still be real. But the government dosent care about whether you were legitimately hurt anymore. They care about what you didnt disclose. They care about the income you didnt report. They care about the form you signed that wasnt entirely accurate.
What You Need to Understand
If your receiving FECA benefits and something feels off - if investigators have contacted you, if you've realized you may have made mistakes on your certifications, if your worried about something you didnt disclose - you need to talk to a federal defense attorney before you talk to anyone else.
Spodek Law Group handles federal employee defense cases. FECA fraud investigations. DOL-OIG inquiries. Cases where federal workers are facing criminal exposure for benefits they received.
The consultation is free. Were not here to judge whether you deserved your benefits. Were here to figure out where you stand and what options exist.
Todd Spodek has defended federal employees facing fraud investigations. He understands the difference between an OIG inquiry thats still administrative and an investigation thats gone criminal. He knows when theres room to negotiate and when its time to fight.
Call us at 212-300-5196.
The surveillance is already happening. The database matching is already running. If theres a problem with your claim, the government probably already knows. The question is what happens next.
Dont wait until federal agents show up at your door. By then, the case is already built.
Were here when you need us.
