Los Angeles man who claimed disability spotted on TV show, sentenced for tax, insurance fraud

Man who claimed disability spotted on TV show

LOS ANGELES — California tax officials say an interior designer’s false disability claim was uncovered when he was spotted on a home improvement television show.

Fifty-six-year-old Ronald Hunt of Los Angeles was sentenced Tuesday to 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay more than $180,000 in restitution, unpaid taxes and fines. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of fraud.

The state’s Franchise Tax Board says Hunt falsely claimed he was disabled for three years and collected almost $150,000 in benefits, while earning about $400,000 in income as an interior designer.

An employee of the insurance company that was paying Hunt’s benefits saw Hunt on a Home and Garden Television program and reported him to the state Department of Insurance.