SANTA ANA – A former Orange County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation on Tuesday for insurance fraud after engaging in heavy CrossFit exercises while collecting compensation for work-related injuries.

Nicholas Zappas, 36, of Laguna Niguel pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of insurance fraud, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said. In addition to jail and probation, he must pay $34,838 in restitution to the county and also $1,000 to the Worker’s Compensation Fraud Assessment Fund, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Zappas, a 14-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, was working in the Harbor Patrol division in April 2015 when he tripped over a fire hose and fell on his back. He filed a worker’s compensation insurance claim for injuries to his left shoulder, left side of his neck and lower back.

A doctor placed him on work restrictions of no lifting, pushing or pulling anything greater than 10 pounds, prosecutors said. The Sheriff’s Department accommodated the work restrictions, with Zappas assigned to dispatch, while he received insurance money through his worker’s compensation claim.

But authorities said he failed to disclose his true physical abilities and activities to his doctors and lied under oath.

From May to November 2015, prosecutors said, Zappas engaged in CrossFit, a high-impact exercise. Prosecutors said he lifted more than 200 pounds in weights, and did box jumps, squats and other activities in contradiction to the limits imposed by his doctors.

He was charged with 11 felony counts of insurance fraud and seven felony counts of perjury under oath and had faced up to 16 years in prison.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com