FORT PIERCE — A former St. Lucie County resident who is a U.S. Army veteran will serve one year in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying about his medical condition to collect more money in disability benefits, court records show.
Zachary Barton, 36, a Miami native who now resides in Colorado, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $245,932 in restitution, according to court filings.
During an Aug. 11 sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Barton had faced up to 10 years in prison after being arrested in 2021 on charges related to making false claims to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
He claimed he had been in combat, which qualified him for post-traumatic stress disorder benefits worth more than $245,000, court records show.
According to federal prosecutors, Barton also falsely reported that he could not lift more than 10 to 20 pounds and had been using a cane to walk since 2010. Instead, social media posts between 2019 and 2021 showed Barton was an avid bodybuilder who participated in competitions.
While he lived in St. Lucie County, Barton had a membership at the Palm Beach Sports Club in Port St. Lucie from September 2017 to February 2019, federal investigators said. Records showed he checked-in almost daily during that time.
Barton moved to Colorado Springs in the summer of 2019, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in announcing his guilty plea May 19 to one count of theft of funds from a...
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