She hurt her knee fleeing from a charging dog on her mail route. Unfortunately, for many mail carriers, this story is all too familiar and often ends with staying on the Postal Service’s rolls through workers’ compensation.
But this mail carrier in Miami, FL, wasn’t just injured after the dog incident. By the time our special agents flagged her in the system, she was the one doing damage.
You see, federal workers who receive workers’ compensation must report all income they’re bringing in from other jobs.
So, when our investigators saw she had applied for pandemic relief funds for a small business, they cracked open a case that would lead to deeper levels of egregious, collusive fraud.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) granted the mail carrier a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of over $20,000 intended to cover a business’ payroll when no money was coming in during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the carrier was lying on her workers’ comp claims by omitting the fact she had recovered from her injury and was also selling meals and household essentials out of her home — a business she openly advertised on social media.
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