Watertown Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Insurance Claim

A Watertown man paid back over $100,000 to an insurance company after pleading guilty to submitting a false disability claim.

Ernest Berardinelli plead guilty to charges of presenting a false insurance claim and larceny over $250 in Middlesex Superior Court on Sept. 9.

"UNUM provided a claim of disability, and Berardinelli submitted a claim that he was fully disabled," Guyotte said. "He was collecting for a number of years, and it was discovered that he was working full time at Watertown Savings Bank." 

He received two years of probation for each charge, which will be served concurrently, according to Middlesex District Attorney's Office Spokeswoman Stephanie Guyotte. He also had to pay $113,000 in restitution to UNUM insurance, Guyotte said.