Democrat Former Legislator Pleads Guilty to $59,000 Disability Fraud

Former Missouri state legislator Raymond Salva pleaded guilty last week to bagging nearly $59,000 in taxpayer-funded Social Security disability payments while earning $30,000 a year as a state representative between 2003 and 2010.

“The defendant admits that he was not merely negligent, careless or mistaken as to whether he was eligible to receive Social Security disability payments. Rather, the defendant admits that he took deliberate actions to avoid confirming the high probability of wrongdoing in this case,” reads the the plea agreement.

Salva could face up to 10 years without parole and up to $250,000 in fines.

Other cases of Social Security disability fraud have also made recent news. Earlier this month, the husband of Democratic Rhode Island legislator Deborah A. Fellela, Henry A. Fellala Jr., plead guilty to five counts of Social Security fraud, theft of government funds, credit card fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Fellala Jr. faces up to 37 years in prison and fines up to $1.25 million.