Surveillance Reveals Claimant Worked While Collecting Disability Benefits

A recreational vehicle salesman who claimed he couldn’t work because of an on-the-job injury has been ordered to pay back more than $81,000 in state disability benefits. Bobby Ray Johnson, 48, pleaded guilty Thursday to felony first-degree theft in Pierce County Superior Court. Judge Stephanie Arend sentenced the Tacoma-area man to 45 days in jail, but allowed him to serve the time in electronic home monitoring. Arend also ordered Johnson to repay the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) for the cash benefits he wrongfully received. The Washington Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case based on an L&I investigation.