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MOBILE, Alabama — A federal judge here on Monday set a new trial date for a Mobile man who tried unsuccessfully to plead guilty last week to defrauding the oil spill claims compensation fund.

An attorney for Joseph Calvin Hensley IV worked out a plea bargain, and the defendant appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday to enter the plea. Under the terms, prosecutors pledged to recommend the minimum sentence under advisory guidelines.

But Hensley would not agree with the facts that prosecutors included in the plea agreement, and U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade said she could not accept his plea to access device fraud.

Granade referred the case to U.S. Magistrate Judge William Cassady for scheduling. He placed the case on next month’s trial docket. Attorneys expect the trial to last a day and a half.

Defense lawyer Neil Hanley declined to comment.

According to the plea agreement, Hensley filed a false claim for compensation in October, saying that he lost $4,500 in wages from DIP Seafood — a nonexistent business — following last year’s Deepwater Horizon spill that sparked a weeks-long gusher in the Gulf of Medico.

Hensley also sent a phony employment verification letter stating that he earned $2,000 per month, according to the plea document.

Court records indicate that the Gulf Coast Claims facility, administered by Ken Feinberg, sent a $4,500 check in November and wired another $5,000 in December as part of the quick pay option to settle all claims.

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