On June 23, 2017, Brian Ronald Coates, age 39, of Lost Nation, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to five years probation for theft of government property and making false statements, announced United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. ‘Read more’ for the rest of the state from the U-S Justice Department on the case.Coates was ordered to pay restitution of $14,235.55 to the United States Railroad Retirement Board and pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.
On February 13, 2017, Coates pleaded guilty to theft of government property and false statements. The Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations (OIG/OI), United States Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), initiated an investigation of Brian Coates on June 11, 2015. The RRB is an independent agency in the executive branch of the United States government responsible for administering retirement benefits to railroad workers. The investigation revealed Coates was earning wages in Iowa while collecting Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
Coates had been employed at the Canadian Pacific Railroad, as a trainmaster, in Maquoketa, Iowa. He was discharged from employment on March 28, 2014. Coates’ railroad service enabled him to be eligible to collect railroad unemployment insurance after he was discharged. Coates worked at Pattison Sand Company on days he reported to the RRB he was unemployed. From May 24, 2014, through March 28, 2015, Coates submitted 23 false claims to the government to hide this employment, resulting in a theft of $14,235.55 in benefits.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, and the United States Railroad Retirement Board. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
