Carl Wayne Stokes, of Bridgeton, was acquitted on charges of workers' compensation and insurance fraud by a Bucks County judge after a two-day trial. Stokes worked as a fishing guide while receiving disability benefits.

A former Bucks County corrections officer was acquitted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud and related offenses by a Bucks County judge, his attorney confirmed Wednesday.

Carl Wayne Stokes, 52, of Bridgeton, was found not guilty of five third-degree felonies and one misdemeanor charge after a two-day bench trial before Judge C. Theodore Fritsch Jr.

The charges were the result of an investigation which showed Stokes ran fishing excursions as a guide while out of work and receiving disability benefits.

County detectives, working undercover in June, paid $240 for a five-hour fishing trip along the Susquehanna River led by Stokes, who allegedly moved a motor boat during the trip, seemingly without physical restriction.

Stokes’ attorney Dean Malik said the judge’s decision indicates he believed his client acted without criminal intent.

“I think the judge really stood up for an American veteran,” Malik said, noting that Stokes retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. “It was an amazing thing to see justice delivered to this individual. He never intended to do anything wrong.”

Malik said that while Stokes has constant pain in his neck and back and is unable to withstand the physical rigors that come with being a corrections officer, he is not totally disabled.

“When you have a vocational disability, it doesn’t mean you’re crippled. It just means he’s not able to perform the job,” Malik added.

He said Stokes hasn’t run any fishing trips since he was charged but the attorney didn’t rule out the possibility he would do so again in the future.

Deputy District Attorney Marc Furber on Wednesday said that while he respected the judge's decision he was disappointed with the verdict.

"We felt we presented a very clear case of workers' compensation fraud, insurance fraud, and theft," Furber said.

The prosecutor referenced documents he felt were falsified by Stokes. He also confirmed that video footage recorded by the undercover detectives during the fishing trip was presented at trial. In the video, according to Furber, Stokes can be heard calling it the best job in the world.

"Yet he was supposedly out injured and unable to work as a prison guard and collecting full disability benefits from the county," Furber added.