Ronald E. Hunt was leading a life of luxury, collecting disability benefits while commanding a six-figure salary as an interior designer. Hunt's decorating prowess even landed him a spot on a home improvement TV show. Only later would the 56-year-old Sunland, Calif. man learn the real price for his proverbial 15 minutes of fame and brazen scheming.
While collecting more than $147,000 in disability insurance benefits over a three-year period, the starry-eyed Hunt continued to work as an interior designer, earning more than $400,000 in wages, for which he evaded income tax. Meanwhile, he somehow mustered up the energy to appear on an HGTV home improvement show as a "working" designer.
Unfortunately for Hunt, an employee of his insurance company saw the performance and promptly alerted the California Department of Insurance to the ruse. Hunt has since pled guilty to two counts of fraud for which he was ordered to pay $180,000 in fines and restitution and serve 60 months of probation. In addition, Hunt's performances for the near future will be restricted to his 200 hours of mandatory community service.
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