PORTLAND, Maine — Editors note: The video above aired Oct. 21, 2021.
A former Bath Iron Works electrician who pleaded guilty to filing a fraudulent workers' compensation claim was sentenced Thursday to three years probation.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Michael Collins, 63, of Scarborough, was also ordered to pay $12,683 in restitution to BIW, according to a release from Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Perry.
Collins filed a claim in May 2018 under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, claiming he suffered a work-related work injury that left him totally disabled.
BIW did not contest the claim and began paying Collins benefits and medical treatment costs until September 2018, when the claims adjuster began suspecting Collins may have continued to work while he claimed he was totally disabled.
A private investigator conducted surveillance over several months, which revealed Collins was working throughout Cumberland County as a self-employed electrician under the name Bear Electric and Alarm Co., according to prosecutors.
On Jan. 7, 2019, Collins claimed on a form that he did not have any earnings from employment or self-employment.
BIW suffered a loss of $12,683.