A York Springs man will serve three months in prison for workers’ compensation fraud. Robert M. Fowler, 61, received $24,934.68 of benefits he was not entitled to because he was in prison in Adams County. 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 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.
In addition to the prison time, Fowler will serve two years supervised release and has to pay $23,792.00 in restitution. Fowler was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by March 25, 2015.
