Man Gets 3 Years for Disability Fraud

An Oxnard man who received thousands of dollars in disability pay while working as a security guard and training to be a police officer was sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison, prosecutors said.

Jeffrey Rene Pilon, 42, was convicted of 14 counts of workers’ compensation fraud stemming from events after his termination from a Santa Barbara security company in February 1999.

After being fired, Pilon filed a disability request with his former employer, claiming he had been injured in January 1999 when he was hit on the head with a coffee mug while responding to a disturbance call.

In total, Pilon was paid $48,300 in disability benefits and medical costs, said Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Marc Leventhal.

“This guy just invented this claim to get back at his employer,” Leventhal said.

During the time Pilon was receiving disability pay, he was working as a full-time security guard in Los Angeles and attending a police academy in Whittier, Leventhal said.

State authorities discovered the bogus claim when Pilon filed for disability benefits again after breaking his leg while trying to scale a fence during training at the police academy.

Pilon, who also was ordered to repay the money, claimed his injuries were real and that he had seen at least seven doctors for head, neck and back pain and had undergone physical therapy.