A Philadelphia, Pa., man received a five-year suspended sentence and 18 months of probation for his part in a staged armed robbery, including shooting a relative, orchestrated to help his cousin access workers’ compensation benefits.

Joseph Francis Brooks, 46, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court to a single count of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

While living in Baltimore, Md., Brooks conspired with his cousin, Pierre Lamont Taylor, to make a false workers’ compensation claim to Taylor’s employer, United Parcel Service. Officials alleged that on Aug. 14, 2002, Taylor, while working for UPS, was “robbed” by Brooks, who staged the incident, but shot Taylor in his right leg.

A week after the incident, Taylor filed an insurance claim with Liberty Mutual, the compensation insurer for UPS, and in November 2004, Liberty Mutual paid a lump-sum disability payment of $250,000. Taylor shared the payment with Brooks, according to the attorney general’s office.

Taylor later confessed to Maryland State Police that he and Brooks got the idea for the staged robbery from watching television.

Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Algeo said of the scheme that “this ranks as one of the dumbest things” he has seen anyone do, according to the office.

The conviction follows a joint investigation by the Insurance Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Maryland State Police and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.