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Pamela VanSyckle, 60, of Oak Ridge, VanSyckle began receiving disability benefits in September 2020 for an injury that she claimed had occurred while working as a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Over the course of three years, VanSyckle continued to complete and sign "multiple federal claim forms alleging that she had not worked or had outside employment," the U.S. attorney said.
Based on those claims, she received $156,872 in disability payments from the federal government, a criminal complaint on file in Newark says.
VanSyckle founded Kingdom Konsultants Travel in 2004. It arranged a variety of personalized Disney excursions, including "Itinerary planning, dining reservations, child care reservations, special event and Cirque du Soleil tickets, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Pirates League reservations, shore excursions and ground transportation reservations."
"If you can dream it, we can book it," was VanSyckle's pledge.
VanSyckle handled a variety of tasks for the travel agency -- including sales, marketing and financial operations -- while claiming that she was neither self-employed nor involved in any business enterprise, Sellinger said.
Her face and bio even remained on the company website, on a LinkedIn account and on social media, Daily Voice found.
VanSyckle took a deal from the government rather than risk the potential consequences of a guilty verdict at a trial. She pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to federal employee compensation fraud on Tuesday, Jan. 30, Sellinger said.
U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden scheduled sentencing for June 12 in Newark.
Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General, special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General and the Jefferson Township Police Department with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Kearney of his Special Prosecutions Unit in Newark..
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