BANGOR — An Aroostook County man who was found guilty of workers’ compensation fraud after a jury trial in Aroostook County Superior Court was sentenced Monday to 42 months in prison, with all but one year suspended.
In addition to his prison sentence, Stephen Tucker Sr., 63, of Monticello was ordered to undergo three years of probation with the condition that he pay $50,242 in restitution to Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Co.
Tucker was convicted in April of the theft of more than $10,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a fine of $20,000.
In issuing his sentence, Justice Allen E. Hunter noted that gaming the system should not be tolerated because everyone pays a price for that, according to Timothy Feeley of the state attorney general’s office.
During the sentencing, the court noted two serious aggravating circumstances — Tucker’s failure to accept responsibility and the fact that he testified falsely at trial, Feeley said. Tucker had no prior criminal record.
Monticello received more than $45,000 in benefits from the Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Co. from July 2009 through February 2012 by claiming that he could not work because of a hand injury he suffered in 2006 while working at Brewer’s Service Station in Mars Hill, according to the Maine attorney general’s office.
However, Tucker opened his own small-engine repair business — Littleton Service — in Littleton in January 2009. The attorney general’s office said in April that evidence gathered during its investigation showed that Tucker was performing many physical tasks in connection with his business that were inconsistent with his testimony before the Maine workers’ compensation board.
Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin prosecuted the case against Tucker for the attorney general’s office.
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