Former Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Four Counts of Workers’ Compensation Fraud

UTICA, NEWYORK -- Christopher Gleason, age 36, of Auburn, New York appeared before U.S. District Court Judge David N. Hurd today and pleaded guilty to four counts of false statement to obtain federal employees' compensation, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge, United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General - Northeast Region.

Gleason was employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier. On January 20, 2022, Gleason sprained his ankle while delivering mail. Shortly thereafter, Gleason began receiving workers' compensation benefits administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP). To continue receiving benefits, Gleason was required to electronically complete, sign and file a Claim for Compensation Form CA-7 biweekly. On each form, Gleason was instructed to report any and all earnings from employment outside his federal job during the period claimed in the CA-7. The defendant admitted to filing multiple false claims affirming that he had not worked outside of his federal job, when the defendant was in fact working and earning income performing construction work while collecting workers' compensation benefits. As a result of the false statements, Gleason received benefits totaling $14,858.94.

At sentencing, scheduled for December 11, 2024, Gleason faces up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00 a term of supervised release of up to 3 years, and Gleason will be required to pay restitution in the amount of the fraudulently obtained benefits. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Thomson is prosecuting the case.