News – Sheridan Media
A Gillette man will spend the next year in federal prison for defrauding the U.S. Government. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.
U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson recently sentenced 63-year-old James Alexander of Gillette to one-year in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for theft of government property in the form of disability benefits and filing a false income tax return. Alexander was also ordered to pay over $409,000 in restitution and will begin serving his federal prison sentence on August 4.
According to court records, as a result of an injury suffered on his job at BNSF Railway, Alexander applied for and received total and permanent disability benefits from the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. The Railroad Retirement Board administers disability benefits to railroad employees who were totally and permanently disabled and unable to work in any kind of regular job as a result of their work for the railroad.
As a condition of receiving monthly disability benefits, Alexander agreed to inform the board if he earned any income or his condition improved, as this would impact his ability to continue receiving monthly disability benefits. From January 1, 2016, to December 2024, Alexander failed to report to the board that his disability did not prevent him from working and/or that he had received substantial income for construction and remodeling work he performed.
Alexander failed to report income that he earned from a construction company from January 2016 to August 2023, totaling $330,830. The defendant further admitted to filing false returns that underreported his true income, including the income he received from a construction company.
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Last modified: June 25, 2025