text: In his application for disability benefits, John Caltabiano claimed he couldn’t drive, cook for himself, exercise at the gym, move around his house or even shave without help. 
   
   The New York man, 49, said he had lost his sight in a workplace accident at a cement company in 2006 and, since then, he bumps into things and hurts himself at home. 
   
   “I sit in the dark and listen to TV,” he wrote in his application. 
   
   On the date of his disability hearing in Hudson, New York, last fall, Caltabiano had his girlfriend lead him into the building. 
   
   But what he didn’t know was just a few days prior, investigators had caught Caltabiano on video appearing to be reading something. In another video, investigators had caught him driving a vehicle and then braking in time to avoid hitting a woman and child in the street. 
   
   Courtesy of Innovative Claims Investigators 
   
   Another video shot by investigators caught him holding the door open for someone, all unusual behavior, they said, for a person claiming to be blind. 
   
   Disability fraud is a big problem across the United States. Last year, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) received 90,000 allegations to investigate. It also won 1,200 convictions and the return of $225 million to taxpayers last year. 
   
   “When it comes to making an assessment of how many are out there, we know how much has been brought to our attention, and we really rely on those fraud allegations,” SSA assistant inspector general for investigations Michael Robinson said. 
   
   So when a tip came in about Caltabiano, U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian at the Department of Justice and his counterparts at the Social Security Administration quickly started looking into it. Their investigation found that Caltabiano did lose sight in one eye in a workplace incident, but there was no indication that his other eye was affected. 
   
   Courtesy of Innovative Claims Investigators 
   
   Caltabiano was on track to collect $1.3 million in benefits before he was caught, according to federal investigators. 
   
   Caltabiano was sentenced in October 2015 to almost five years in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and theft of government property. His lawyer said he was appealing the case. 
   
   His girlfriend is serving three years’ probation after being found guilty of fraudulently obtaining federal and state disability benefits. 
   
   More than 7,000 cases are opened each year of suspected Americans trying to dupe the system. For anyone out there considering getting some dark glasses and a cane, assistant inspector general Robinson has a message. 
   
   “We’re going do everything we can to ensure that those individuals who violate the public’s trust are held accountable,” he said. “So if you’re not caught now, eventually, you will.” ||||| CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A Catskill man was the subject of “Nightline” on Friday after being sentenced for benefit fraud. 
   
   John Caltabiano Jr. was sentenced in April. He was previously convicted on sexual assault charges. A federal judge called his criminal history “extremely disturbing.” 
   
   Starting in 2006, investigators said Caltabiano Jr. pretended to be blind to collect workers compensation. An in-depth piece on his case aired on “Nightline” Friday night. 
   
   The piece highlighted how far some people will go to rob the system, and it’s happening across the Capital Region. 
   
   “A couple years ago, it was over $1 million,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. “Last year, I think it was a half-million dollars.” 
   
   The money stolen through benefit fraud belongs to taxpayers, and it may never be given back. Benefit programs are designed to help people get back on their feet and move on. 
   
   “They find a void and work the system, and boy do they go to work,” Apple said. 
   
   A federal judge handed down an almost 5-year sentence to Caltabiano Jr. for disability fraud. According to court documents, in 2006, the 49-year old said a workplace accident left him blind. He started collecting workers compensation, and he played the part. 
   
   His girlfriend would lead him into hearings, and he told investigators he couldn’t get around without help. But little did he know that investigators caught him on camera driving, shopping and going to the gym. 
   
   Caltabiano Jr. was on track to steal more than $1 million from taxpayers. It’s a widespread program that has people financially crippling their communities. 
   
   “It costs the county a lot of money – a lot of money,” Apple said. “And then if you start thinking about having to hire all these investigators to investigate it – paying their salary and benefits – people wonder why their taxes are so high. Well, here you go.” ||||| From the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York: 
   
   ALBANY, NEW YORK – John W. Caltabiano, Jr., age 49, of Catskill, New York, was sentenced today to serve 57 months in prison after a jury found him guilty in October of fraudulently obtaining federal and state disability benefits. He was immediately taken into custody. 
   
   The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge for the Social Security Administration ("SSA") Office of the Inspector General. 
   
   On October 16, 2015, following a two-week trial, a jury found Caltabiano and co-defendant Colleen McCarten guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and theft of government property. Between April 2008 and October 2010, Caltabiano and McCarten conspired to steal Social Security Disability and Workers’ Compensation benefits by falsely representing to the SSA, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, and Travelers Insurance that an on-the-job injury had left him almost completely blind. In reality, as demonstrated in videos taken during the investigation and presented at trial, he was able to drive, shop, go to the gym, and otherwise move about without the assistance that a blind person would need. 
   
   At the sentencing, Judge D’Agostino said, "And had he not been caught, I have no doubt that Mr. Caltabiano would still have someone leading him into any proceedings or any hearings as though he couldn’t see a darn thing when we all know that he was seeing well enough to carry out his ordinary activities, to drive, to go to convenience stores, all of that." 
   
   U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian stated: "If Caltabiano had not been stopped, he would have been able to steal more than one-half a million dollars based on his life expectancy. His sentence reflects the magnitude of his fraud and sends a message that those who steal benefits face significant prison sentences. My office will continue to prosecute benefits fraud aggressively so that that taxpayer-funded government benefits go to people who truly need them." 
   
   Edward J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge for the SSA Office of the Inspector General, stated: "As guardians of the public trust we vigorously pursue incidents of fraud against SSA programs. We continue to investigate allegations of fraudulent disability claims to combat fraud in federal and state government sponsored disability programs. Our successful criminal prosecutions protect the SSA trust funds for those who truly deserve disability benefits. Our office greatly appreciates the continued support and the priority given to these cases by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York." 
   
   United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Caltabiano to serve 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release, and to pay $27,784 in restitution to the SSA. At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge D’Agostino described his criminal history as "extremely disturbing." She referred to Caltabiano’s many prior convictions, four of which involved his sexual assault or attempted abduction of teenage girls. 
   
   McCarten’s sentencing is scheduled for April 20, 2016 in Albany before Judge D’Agostino. 
   
   This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, and the Office of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White. ||||| An upstate New York man who pretended to be blind to collect worker's comp was captured on camera by investigators driving a car, going shopping and hitting the gym, new images show. 
   
   Scammer John Caltabiano, Jr. is seen wearing shades as he sits behind the wheel of a teal pickup truck and staring at the camera as he walks without help into a store in photos that aired Friday on "Nightline." 
   
   The incriminating photos were snapped just days before his girlfriend led him into a courthouse for a hearing in his fraud trial to fool people into thinking he was completely blind. 
   
   John Caltabiano Jr., 49, was arrested for disability fraud after he claimed he was blinded by workplace injury. (Police Handout) 
   
   Caltabiano, a 49-year-old Catskill native, was convicted in October along with his girlfriend, Colleen J. McCarten, 43, for faking an on-the-job-injury he claimed left him totally vision impaired in order to cash in on more social security and worker's compensation between 2008 and 2010. 
   
   The fraudster could have raked in more than a half million dollars had investigators not caught him in his lie, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 
   
   John Caltabiano Jr., 49, was caught on camera driving a pickup truck while faking blindess. (ABC Nightline) 
   
   "If Caltabiano had not been stopped, he would have been able to steal more than a half a million dollars based on his life expectancy," U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian said after the pair's sentencing. 
   
   Caltabiano, who was previously convicted of sexual assault charges for attempting to abduct teenage girls, was slapped with a five-year sentence for disability and mail fraud in February. His girlfriend was given three years probation for helping with the conspiracy. 
   
   Caltabiano's girlfriend helped him lie about being blind by leading him in to his court hearings as if he couldn't see. (ABC Nightline) 
   
   He was on his way to steal nearly $1 million in tax dollars over the course of almost a decade of stealing money that was set aside for workers who had become disabled on the job. 
   
   “It costs the county a lot of money — a lot of money,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told ABC News 10. 
   
   His ruse was discovered after video of his lie was uncovered by investigators caught him driving, reading and doing things impossible without eyesight. (ABC Nightline) 
   
   Caltabiano’s girlfriend helped him play the part of a helpless blind man by leading him by the arm when he appeared publicly for court hearings in his case. 
   
   But, unbeknownst to the conning couple, investigators caught on to Caltabiano's ruse by capturing on camera the con artist engaging in everyday activities without any help — like driving, working out at the gym, and shopping — proving his vision was intact. 
   
   “And then if you start thinking about having to hire all these investigators to investigate it — paying their salary and benefits — people wonder why their taxes are so high. Well, here you go,” Apple said.
target: – John Caltabiano was collecting disability benefits for a 2006 workplace accident that he said left him blind when investigators caught him on video reading, driving, and holding a door open for someone, ABC News reports. The 49-year-old New York man had said in his benefits application that he couldn't do basic things like cook for himself, exercise, shave, or get around the house. "I sit in the dark and listen to TV," he wrote. But based on a tip, US Attorney Richard Hartunian and investigators at the Social Security Administration gave Caltabiano a closer look. He had indeed lost sight in one eye in a workplace accident, they found, but video evidence showed he wasn't homebound. Aired Friday on Nightline, the evidence helped authorities in October convict Caltabiano and girlfriend Colleen J. McCarten, 43, of fraud and theft in faking an on-the-job-injury, the New York Daily News reports. Hartunian says the New York man was on track to steal half-a-million dollars over the course of his life. In April, Caltabiano was sentenced to 57 months and McCarten to three years' probation, per a press release; his lawyer says he plans to appeal. As for his attempted fraud, it's not all that unusual. "It costs the county a lot of money—a lot of money," Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple tells ABC News 10. "And then if you start thinking about having to hire all these investigators to investigate it—paying their salary and benefits—people wonder why their taxes are so high. Well, here you go.”