Note: The following is a report from the USPS Office of Inspector General

Need a new roof, chimney repaired, or gutters fixed? An upstate New York letter carrier, determined by a physician to have a “total, permanent disability,” and receiving Office of Worker’s Compensation Program (OWCP) payments, was glad to help you out.

A tip from the U.S Postal Service’s Health & Resource Management office in Albany, NY, to the Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG), advised that the identified letter carrier may be gainfully employed as a roofer, while receiving continuation of pay benefits.

The letter carrier claimed in September 2011, that he injured his shoulder when he reached to pull a mailbox handle. In October 2011, the Department of Labor (DOL) OWCP approved his claim. The carrier was able to convince his treating physician of the severity of his injury, with the doctor determining that the carrier had a permanent disability.

From late September through November 2011, the OIG conducted surveillance and observed/videotaped the letter carrier exceeding his medical restrictions on numerous occasions. Agents also determined that the letter carrier was hired by numerous customers for home repair work which included the installation of new roofs, repairing existing roofs, chimney repair, door repair, and repairing gutters, while collecting workers’ compensation benefits. The OIG was joined in the investigation by Inspector General Agents of the DOL and Social Security Administration, as well as several New York State agencies.

Agents determined that the letter carrier owned and operated his own contracting company, which specialized in installing and repairing roofs and providing general home repair services. OIG surveillance determined that the letter carrier removed 28 sheets of plywood from a truck and installed a new roof on a residence. Additional surveillances captured him carrying building materials, repairing gutters, loading and carrying logs and firewood, carrying cement cinder blocks, and lifting a 55-pound air compressor, all while collecting workers compensation benefits.

On June 21, the letter carrier entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court to one-count criminal information charging him with False statements and fraud to obtain Federal employee’s compensation. He also admitted to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Department of Labor of $18,354. The letter carrier’s sentencing is scheduled for late October.

As a result of the investigation, DOL OWCP discontinued the carrier’s COP payments, resulting in a $1,045,934 cost avoidance to the Postal Service.