Retired officer from Suffern to serve probation for fraud
The Journal News by Jenna Carlesso - November 20, 2008
A retired New York City police officer from Suffern has been ordered to serve two years' probation for illegally collecting Social Security disability payments. James P. Fox, 58, who originally faced up to 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to a fraud charge in August, was spared a prison term Tuesday. Instead, he'll serve the probation, six months of which he is to be confined to his home with an electronic monitoring brace. U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson in White Plains also mandated that Fox pay $150,000 in restitution to the government. Fox became a police officer in 1971 and left the force in 1980 with knee and back injuries, Herbert Hadad, a press officer with the U.S. Attorney's Office, told The Journal News in August. In 1999 he took a job as a security guard in the Nyack school district, but continued to collect Social Security payments. He received $150,316 in total benefits from the government. Hadad said yesterday he was not sure if Fox still works for the school district. It is illegal to collect Social Security disability payments if you make more than a specified maximum income. It was unclear how much money Fox earned as a security guard. Calls to Fox's lawyer, Patrick Burke of Suffern, were not returned yesterday. Fox pleaded guilty in August to Social Security disability fraud, a felony. He initially faced up to 10 years in prison, but Robinson said on Tuesday that the court had been considering a guideline of 12 to 18 months behind bars. He settled for probation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment