LUANN MIDDLETON
\nAge: 72
\nGlen Cove, New York<\/p>\n
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-339 (GRB)<\/p>\n
9\/111\/26 – Earlier today, a federal jury in Central Islip convicted Luann Middleton, a former United States Postal Service (USPS) employee, of wire fraud in connection with her repeated submission of false workers compensation forms to the United States Department of Labor (DOL), in which she claimed total disability, and thereby received approximately $40,000 per year in federal workers\u2019 compensation benefits for nearly 25 years.\u00a0 The verdict followed a four-day trial before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown.\u00a0 When sentenced, Middleton faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as financial penalties.<\/p>\n
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Matthew M. Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge, United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office (USPS-OIG), announced the verdict.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor more than 20 years and until her lies caught up to her, the defendant refused to come to work and instead collected tax-free disability benefits for a highly-exaggerated injury,\u201d stated United States Attorney Nocella.\u00a0 \u201cOur Office and the Administration has made it a priority to hold accountable those who exploit government benefits programs for personal gain and steal funds that are designated for workers who truly need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the USPS-OIG and the United States Department of Labor (DOL) for their assistance with the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis verdict sends a clear message that workers\u2019 compensation fraud will not be tolerated,” stated USPS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Modafferi. \u00a0“These benefits are intended to support U.S. Postal Service employees who are truly injured, not those who misrepresent their condition for personal gain. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General remains committed to protecting the Postal Service, its employees, and federal benefit programs from fraud and abuse. We thank the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office of the Eastern District of New York\u00a0and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General for their partnership in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
As proven at trial, in August 1997, Middleton, who was in her mid-forties, claimed that she had sustained an injury to her lower back while performing her duties as a postal clerk.\u00a0 Middleton submitted a claim for compensation to the DOL and began receiving workers\u2019 compensation benefits approximately three months later.\u00a0 Middleton briefly returned to work in a limited duty capacity in February 1999, after a medical doctor found that she was in fact capable of working; but then claimed she had a recurrence of her back injury, which rendered her totally and permanently disabled.\u00a0 She again began receiving workers\u2019 compensation benefits \u2013 roughly two-thirds of her annual salary, tax-free \u2013 from the DOL.\u00a0 Between November 1997 and September 2022, Middleton regularly submitted medical evaluations and records to the USPS and the DOL claiming that she was incapable of returning to work, and that she was totally disabled.\u00a0 The evaluations claimed, for example, that Middleton could sit, stand, walk, bend, lift and reach above her shoulders for zero hours and could not participate in any physical activities because of her excruciating back pain.<\/p>\n
However, the investigation revealed that between October 2015 and March 2022, Middleton engaged in numerous physical activities, including cleaning out a garage, sitting through a movie for more than two hours, standing for more than one hour at a cookie decorating class, climbing stairs and retail shopping.\u00a0 Middleton was observed, and captured on video footage, carrying groceries and laundry bags, lifting and reaching for objects at heights she claimed she could not reach, bending to the floor to retrieve items, and hoisting a bag of potting soil from the bottom of her shopping cart into her vehicle.\u00a0 \u00a0Records from USPS and DOL indicate that Middleton received more than $900,000 in fraudulent workers\u2019 compensation benefits as the result of her claimed physical limitations.<\/p>\n
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division).\u00a0 The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people.\u00a0 The Department\u2019s work to combat fraud supports President Trump\u2019s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office\u2019s Long Island Division.\u00a0 Assistant United States Attorneys Charles P. Kelly and Ashlyn Miranda are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder, Legal Assistant Danielle Rompel, and Automated Litigation Specialist Michael Compitello.<\/p>\n
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