Air Traffic Controller Guilty For $700K WC Fraud

Raymond Elmo Deskins, III, 52, is a former air traffic controller who has received nearly $700,000 in federal workers’ compensation benefits. He was convicted on January 13^th by a federal jury on charges of mail fraud and making false statements. The latter was for his failure to disclose his work activities in the construction industry to the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

According to Fairfax News, Deskins was indicted back on August 25, 2011 on nine counts of mail fraud and three counts of making false statements in connection with his federal workers’ comp benefits. Court records and evidence from the trial shows that Deskins had been receiving his workers’ comp benefits since 2004.

From 2005 to 2008, while receiving those disability benefits –because he could no longer perform work of any kind, Deskins was working as a construction foreman for a general contractor. In order to keep those monthly benefits checks coming, Deskins repeatedly falsely stated on annual forms that he had been engaged in no work activities during the reporting periods to the Department of Labor.

Deskins will face a maximum of 20 years on each mail fraud count and a maximum of five years on each false statements count when he is sentenced on May 4^th.