According to Insurance Journal, Aida Perez of Roselle Park, New Jersey and former United States Postal Service mail carrier, was officially charged with workers’ compensation fraud early last month.
Court documents and statements indicate that Perez was employed as a USPS mail carrier in Westfield, New Jersey, and on November 18, 2020, she submitted a form alleging that she sustained an ankle sprain injury on the job on November 9, 2020.
Additional forms submitted by Perez stated that she was not receiving any other means of income. However, the articles states, “an investigation revealed that Perez operated a business from which she received substantial income. For example, during the investigation, an undercover law enforcement officer purchased $245 in goods from Perez’s business.”
Perez has officially been charged with one count of knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, and covering up a material fact, and making a false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation in regards to her application and receiving of federal workers’ compensation benefits.
Perez has since been released on bail after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge, Mark Falk. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, however, the maximum penalty for a count of making false statements to obtain federal workers’ compensation benefits includes five years in prison and a $250,000 in the state of New Jersey.