Moorcroft Leader - The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming

Man charged after $22K in fraudulent disability benefits

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man is accused of defrauding the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services out of more than $22,000 by continuing to file temporary disability claims for about a year after returning to work.

Klaus G. Paugsch, 49, waived his preliminary hearing Jan. 31 and was bound over to District Court on five felony counts of making misrepresentations or false statements in violation of the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Act.

Paugsch qualified for temporary disability benefits through the department of workforce serv...