Faces Five Years In Prison, Fine

An electronics technician working at the Atlantic City International Airport was arrested and charged Wednesday with fraudulently obtaining over $100,000 in disability payments from the FAA.

Jeffrey L. Bell Sr. claims he injured his neck in October 2001 when he fell out of a chair on the job. Prosecutors say he signed a form claiming not to be employed in the time he collected disability checks, from March of 2005 until this past Monday.

Well, you guessed it... according to the government, Bell was employed over those 15 months, as owner of avionics maintenance company US Aircraft Instruments. He allegedly collected nearly $24,000 in checks written to his company in that time... as well as another $34,000 in credit card payments.

But wait, there's more... federal agents say Bell also worked as a regional sales representative for a Plano, TX-based health care company while collecting his disability checks.

The Bridgeton News reports Bell was released on bail Wednesday. He was ordered not to leave New Jersey, and to surrender his passport and any weapons he may have.

If convicted, Bell faces up to five years in federal prison for the crime... as well as a $250,000 fine.

FMI: www.faa.gov