BANGOR — A veteran pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to collecting disability while at the same time earning an income.

According to U. S. Attorney Paula D. Silsby, Robert W. Hall, 59, of Bradford, a disabled veteran, began receiving non-service related pension benefits monthly in 1986. By August 2007, he was getting the maximum $910 in benefits and was claiming no income.

However, court records revealed that Hall was earning income from rental payments and the sale of livestock. He was, according to court records, hiding large sums of cash in a safety deposit box at a branch office of Camden National Bank. When it was opened on a search warrant, officials found $110,000 in cash.

The money was seized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and will be used to pay the government back for Hall's fraudulent benefits.

Hall made his plea in U.S. District Court in Bangor. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced at a date to be determined.