Social Security Disability Fraud: Postal Worker Who Faked Disabilities Sentenced To 30 Months
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason sentenced Amancio Zamora Agcaoili, a U.S. Postal Services employee, to 30 months in jail and three years of supervised probation after he pled guilty to Social Security Disability fraud and other crimes to the tune of $365,831.50, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Agcaoili, a 57-year-old Alaskan native, faked his injuries, received payments from two different programs, lied to each of the programs about the payments and lack of injuries, and double dipped, among other crimes to which he pled guilty.
According to WKUU, Agcaoili worked for the United States Postal Service when a lower back injury put him on the disabled list.
A multiyear investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG) into payments Agcaoili received between 2009 and 2014 resulted in his arrest in April, 2014, according to WKUU.
That investigation found that Agcaoili faked his disability claims repeatedly, hid the fact he was working while collecting payments, collected payments from both the SSD and Workman’s Compensation programs at maximum value, and lied to each program to receive the maximum payment from each program, also known as double dipping.
According to the Alaska Native News, Agcaoili went so far as to walk with a cane when he had to visit the programs, so they would continue to see him as disabled.
While Agcaoili collected disability payments from both programs, he reportedly made money by “preparing immigration paperwork and doing tax returns for hundreds of people” in an office in his backyard.
Agcaoili’s criminal actions allowed him to receive the maximum payment amount from two different federal programs, the “Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (OWCP) and the Social Security Administration Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB),” according to the report.
These programs are supposed to benefit people who truly need it — the disabled and unemployed.
According to the Department of Justice, “Agcaoili went dipnetting and fishing every year on the Copper River and the Kenai River, went dancing and sledding, and took vacations to Hawaii, Canada, and the Philippines.”
The specific charges to which Agcaoili plead guilty included Federal Employees’ Compensation Act fraud, theft of government funds, social security fraud, and wire fraud charges.
The following quote is from the Alaska Native News.
“At sentencing, Judge Gleason said the sentence was needed to deter both Agcaoili and others from abusing the programs.”
For this reason, Judge Gleason also ordered Agcaoili to serve three years of supervised probation in addition to the 30 months of jail time, as an example to others who might think of doing the same.
In addition to the jail and probation, Agcaoili was ordered to pay back every dime he stole from the two programs — $365,831.50 — as well as forfeit the $14,141 found in his bank account at the time of his arrest, according to the report.
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