SLT man to spend one year in jail and pay $160,000 for worker's comp fraud

A South Lake Tahoe man who spent at least 40 days a year skiing while claiming he was totally disabled from employment was sentenced today to one year in prison and ordered to pay $160,000 in restitution.

As reported by South Tahoe Now in 2012, Mark E. Leung, now 60, claimed he had a work related injury while working for the U.S. Postal Service. He never returned to full time work with the post office and started receiving workers' compensation benefits in 1987.

According to the Department of Justice, court documents show that from September 2007 through November 2012, Leung received approximately $160,000 in benefits from the Department of Labor, which administers the program for the United States Postal Service. To obtain the benefits, Leung submitted an annual certification form and also had his medical providers attest that he could not perform any work due to the pain that limited his mobility and range of movement. In fact, Leung was not so disabled. Among other things, while claiming he was totally disabled from employment, Leung maintained a yearly ski pass for Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe where he regularly skied for at least 40 days per ski season. Moreover, Leung was as also observed performing arduous physical labor on numerous days.

He was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Mendez.