A former Boston Police Officer was sentenced to fifteen months in prison today for a fraud scheme involving work-related disability claim.
Eliezer Gonzalez, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns after pleading guilty to 34 counts of mail fraud in February.
Gonzalez will serve fifteen months in prison followed by two years of supervised released, and will pay $167,393 in restitution and forfeiture to the City of Boston and Colonial Life Insurance, as well as a mandatory special assessment of $3,400.
The former Officer went out on injured leave after allegedly incurring on-the-job injuries in 2007. Gonzalez then began receiving tax-free injured pay and filed for accidental disability retirement.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Gonzalez greatly exaggerated and lied about his injuries, from which he collected $173,000 in injured leave pay from the City of Boston and $3,600 in supplemental insurance benefits.
Gonzalez was found out after he was surveilled and videotaped feigning injuries “on or near the same days” that he was seen walking without troubles and appearing injury-free, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Throughout the time that Gonzalez collected disability pay, he was seen at the L Street Bath House, Salsa Dancing and traveling abroad without difficulty.
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