LOS ANGELES : Deaf Activist Gets 2-Year Term, Fine in Fraud Case

A deaf activist convicted in the biggest fraud case of its kind in U.S. history was sentenced to two years in prison this week, fined $50,000 and ordered to repay nearly $90,000 of the $400,000 he took.

Robert L. Chesney, 60, was convicted in December on 20 counts of filing false claims, converting money for his own use and money laundering. He must repay $88,532 to the government for misappropriating retirement and disability benefits by using fake identification cards. Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose a sentence of up to 51 months and a $475,000 fine.

But U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall said several factors influenced her decision: Chesney is deaf, he did not spend any of the money, and he intended his actions as a protest of the government’s treatment of deaf people.

This is believed to be the largest case of its kind, said Joseph Malfero, a special agent with the Department of Health and Human Services. Investigators found 264 Social Security cards, birth certificates, driver’s licenses and automated teller machine cards when they searched Chesney’s apartment.