The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced Thursday that three railroad workers, including one from Levittown, have agreed to pay $75,000 collectively to resolve claims of unemployment benefits fraud.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced the settlement with the three railroad workers who made false claims for unemployment benefits on Thursday. The resolutions were civil actions under the False Claims Act and refund the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, an independent agency of the federal government that administers retirement, unemployment, and sickness benefits to the nation’s railroad works through taxes paid by railroad employees.
The False Claims Act allows the government to seek three times the damages plus civil penalties for each false claim.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice’s regional office alleged that Levittown resident Abele submitted 31 false claims for unemployment benefits between November 2016 and April 2018 while he was “gainfully employed” by Terminal Switching Company LLC and Watco Transloading, LLC.
The other two railroad workers – Shohana Culberson, of Philadelphia and James T. Billups, of Newark, Delaware – each submitted more than a dozen false claims while being employed, authorities said.
“Between them, the government alleges, the defendants received a total of $37,127 of unemployment compensation on days when they knew they were not eligible for it,” the statement said.
The settlement in the...
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