Penalty in disability insurance fraud case: 180 days in jail and $25,000

A former employee of a Huntington Beach remodeling company was sentenced Friday for cashing disability checks under the false pretense of being unable to work, prosecutors said.

Angel Monzon, 53, of Santa Ana was sentenced to 180 days in jail, three years of probation and was ordered to pay more than $25,000 in restitution, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office

In 2015, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of insurance fraud and two felony counts of making fraudulent statements.

Monzon worked as a granite installer in 2010 for Fermol Inc., based on Hamilton Avenue. During that year, he fell while carrying a large piece of granite and was placed on temporary total disability, according to the district attorney’s office.

He received more than $24,000 in disability benefits while reporting to doctors that he was unable to work because of his injuries and limited physical abilities, prosecutors said.

Despite those claims, however, Monzon resumed work as a granite installer and collected income while simultaneously accepting disability benefits, prosecutors said.

In 2012, Fermol reported to an insurance company that Monzon, who never returned to Fermol after his injury, had resumed working for either himself or another company in a similar line of work, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said in 2013, while under oath, Monzon lied by claiming not to have worked since his injury and that his only income came from disability benefits, among other claims.

The California Department of Insurance investigated the case after reviewing video surveillance footage showing Monzon working on projects similar to those performed before his injury, prosecutors said.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint