Soldier Sentenced For Social Security Fraud

A Fort Riley soldier has been sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for accepting disability payments he wasn’t eligible to receive.

A U.S. attorney’s office says 38-year-old James Scott Nickerson was ordered to pay nearly $72,000 in restitution to the Social Security Administration during the Wednesday sentencing. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following the prison sentence.

Nickerson pleaded guilty in April to one count of making a false official statement to a federal agency.

Nickerson applied for disability benefits in October 2009 under the Wounded Warrior Program. He claimed he was unable to work because of mental disorders he developed while serving in Iraq. He concealed that he was working full time for the Army in various jobs.