MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Steven Paul Buie, age 57, of Okemah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 4 years’ probation. Buie was also ordered to pay $204,857.37 in restitution for False Statement Or Fraud To Obtain Federal Employees’ Compensation, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1920. The charges arose from an investigation by the Department of the Army U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers.
The Information alleged that beginning in or about September 2015 and continuing through May 2017, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant, knowingly and with intent to defraud, did willfully falsify, conceal and cover up a material fact, to-wit: his true medical condition and that he was physically capable to perform work, such concealed fact caused the payment of federal employees compensation in excess of $1,000.00.
United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said, “A fraud perpetrated against a government agency is a fraud against us all. The funds that Buie received fraudulently are funds that are designated for those that are legitimately injured and disabled and unable to be gainfully employed because of the injury. This investigation revealed that Buie had made false statements on numerous occasions about his ability to work. As a result he is being held accountable and has been ordered to pay restitution."
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. First Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Wilson represented the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
