Bill “Swanny” Swann, right, is seen in this photograph provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office after killing a wild coho.
A Washington fishing guide accused of disability fraud, which was uncovered during a different investigation into illegal fishing, has been sentenced to spend a year in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced Friday.
Billy Jim “Swanny” Swann, 53, was convicted in March after a three-day trial of perjury, wire fraud and Social Security fraud. He was accused of, over a period of eight years, trying to obtain Social Security Disability benefits for which he did not qualify.
Judge Robert J. Bryan called Swann’s activity a “nefarious scheme” to “lie to get money from the federal government.”
Swann reportedly applied for Social Security benefits in 2006, claiming he had been unable to work due to disability since 2003. Social Security denied the claim and Swann appealed, swearing before a judge that he had only worked as a volunteer recently.
His benefits were again denied and he again appealed “with numerous false claims about his alleged disabilities,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Swann claimed his disability interfered with his ability to walk, climb stairs and use his hands, and that he needed a cane to walk.”
However at the same time, Swann was reportedly making upwards of $90,000 per year on guided fishing trips in four states, was sponsored by outdoor brands and was featured on fishing shows and in magazines. He allegedly failed to claim any of that money as income or pay taxes on it.
Swann never actually received Social Security benefits, but investigators argued he would have fraudulently received $200,000 had his scheme been successful.
In March 2017, Swann was convicted and fined $7,500 for a violation of the endangered species act for clipping adipose fins to make wild salmon appear to be hatchery fish.
