Investigations

On November 15, 2012, Thomas Schneller, a millwright/welder formerly employed by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Syracuse, New York, to 6 months of home confinement, $84,987 in restitution to the Department of Labor, 36 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, and a $100 court assessment.

In July 2012,  Mr. Schneller pled guilty to fraud regarding federal worker's compensation benefits.  Mr. Schneller claimed an on-the-job injury in February 2004 yet continued to work in his own private welding business, AKJ Marine (established about a week after his purported injury), while receiving federal worker's compensation benefits.  Mr. Schneller failed to disclose this outside source of income on annual Office of Worker's Compensation Program certification forms.

This case was worked jointly with the US Department of Labor - OIG.