Fraudsters are adept at misleading others to think that their actions are legitimate. (The more they get away with it, the more they try to do it.) An article posted on InsuranceJournal.com reports that a deceptive woman misrepresented her condition 19 times on workers’ compensation claims submitted to the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission. (The claims were filed against numerous employers, making the fraud more difficult to detect.)
The story reports that in addition to filing false reports regarding her supposed work-related injuries, she also misrepresented her medical condition and was a bit of an exaggerator when detailing her ailments to her employers, doctors and insurance companies. She was successful at creating the impression that her injuries suffered at work were worse than they really were so that she could receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. (TTD benefits are usually paid weekly to a worker who is disabled as a result of an injury sustained at work.)
The ruse continued for more than 25 years before she was investigated by the Illinois Department of Insurance’s (DOI) Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit (WCFU). (In the meantime, she collected more than $90,000 in workers’ compensation benefits. As a result of her misleading claims, she received unnecessary medical care and was allowed to skip work.)
The woman was charged with 10 counts of workers’ compensation fraud, insurance fraud, aggravated insurance fraud and perjury related to her benefits claims. She pleaded guilty to felony workers’ compensation fraud and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $14,737.86 in restitution plus fines, fees and court costs.
And that’s not all. As a result of the WFCU investigation, the woman was also charged with eight additional counts of workers’ compensation fraud, insurance fraud and aggravated insurance fraud and perjury related to workers’ compensation claims against three additional employers. Those cases have been referred to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General for prosecution. It is critical to note that in these cases, she is innocent until proven guilty.
When standing before a judge, it’s pretty important to tell the truth and not mislead anyone that has the ability to put you behind bars. With this fraudster’s past history of misleading the government, it’s a sure bet that she will be scrutinized by prosecutors at trial.
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