59-year-old Timothy Oravec of Poughkeepsie was arrested Tuesday on charges that he defrauded the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and some of its employees by falsely claiming to have cancer, and obtaining and using leave time donated to him by his colleagues. Oravec worked for HUD in Albany. The indictment alleges that in 2013, Oravec falsely told his supervisors and coworkers that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would need to be absent from work as a result. Oravec was approved as a recipient of donated leave as part of a voluntary leave transfer program. Other HUD employees donated 694 hours of their vacation time to Oravec. He used most of the donated vacation time to miss work, while being paid. The indictment also alleges that, as part of the scheme, Oravec fabricated letters from multiple medical providers and gave those fabricated letters to his supervisors. Those letters described Oravec’s treatment for cancer. Oravec is alleged to have created the letters himself. If convicted, Oravec would face up to 20 years in prison, and/or a maximum fine of $250,000.
