Former Mail Carrier Faces 15 Years for Fraudulent Claim

Wednesday, March 27, 2019 | 0

A rural mail carrier in Florida faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $192,000 in workers’ compensation benefits by not reporting all of her income, the Citrus County Chronicle reports.

Ruth S. Sprake, 60, pleaded guilty during a hearing Monday at the federal courthouse in Ocala to theft of government funds and making false statements to the Social Security Administration.

Sprake started receiving workers’ compensation benefits in September 2002 for an injury she sustained while working as a rural mail carrier for the Postal Service. From 2013 to 2018, she failed to report income from her dog-breeding business and clerical work for a real estate firm.

As a result, Sprake collected $192,000 in benefits she wouldn’t have received if she truthfully reported her employment.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said Sprake wrote false statements to the Social Security Administration underreporting her personal and household income. The false statements were used to obtain higher Social Security payments.