WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A federal judge has sentenced a former postal worker to five months in prison for fraudulently claiming to be on jury duty for 184 days total on two occasions and collecting nearly $39,000 in pay from the U.S. Postal Service.

Joseph Winstead was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in February to mail fraud and he must serve five months home detention and repay the postal service $38,923.95.

Prosecutors say Winstead was summoned for jury service in October 2003 and served on a jury. But then he submitted fraudulent documents to his boss showing he was away on jury service many days past the time he was dismissed. He was caught when a supervisor became suspicious when he repeated the scam in 2006.

Judge John Bates called the 52-year-old's conduct a serious threat to the criminal justice system.