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Bucks County Corrections Officer 'Captain Catfish' Accused Of Worker's Comp Fraud

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BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — A Bucks County man is facing charges, including worker's compensation fraud and theft.

Carl Stokes, 51, is the Bucks County Corrections officer who calls himself "captain catfish." The captain even posted photos of his fishing adventures on Facebook.

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The corrections officer stood in front of a different camera after the Bucks County District Attorney's Office charged him with workers compensation fraud.

"He was a corrections officer. He was supervising individuals accused of, and convicted of committing crimes and here he was committing his own series of crimes," said Marc Furber with the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

Court documents show while working as a fishing guide for Reel River Adventures, Stokes also collected upwards of $20,000 in worker's compensation. He claimed he could no longer do his job at the Bucks County Jail due to a back injury he suffered after a fight with an inmate. But police say photos posted online show him fishing on boats and appearing strong and healthy.

carl wayne stokes
Credit: CBS3

Investigators say Stokes started receiving workers comp in November. Then in January, investigators found a Facebook post through Reel River Adventures, where Stokes offered guided fishing tours. That's when detectives decided to go undercover and paid him for a fishing trip.

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"The defendant moved about the boat totally unencumbered, assisted the detectives in retrieving their fishing lines from the river and fishes with them," said Furber.

Eyewitness News went to his Upper Black Eddy home where we found what looks like his boat. His attorney told us over the phone his client has no comment and added Stokes had no intention of defrauding anyone.

Stokes is free on bail tonight. He will appear before a judge next month.

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