A onetime postal worker who claimed that an on-the-job accident left him too injured to work has been discovered toiling away in New York City flea markets, allegedly spending his days lugging around cinder blocks and other heavy objects.

Joseph Penalto faces federal charges for scamming the federal government out of more than $160,000 in workers’ compensation since the 2001 accident that he says left him disabled.

Penalto, 64, claims he has permanent neck, knee and back injuries after being struck by a mail truck.

But undercover agents started sniffing around in 2014, and found him carting tables, wares, and other heavy objects to markets in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where he was observed hawking his goods, federal prosecutors say.

All the while, Penalto was receiving disability checks, and continued to file paperwork claiming he remained too injured to work, according to authorities.

Penalto, who limped into Brooklyn federal court Friday, was released without bail. He faces up to 5 years behind bars on charges of making false statements to obtain federal employment benefits.