A teaching assistant was recently arrested on multiple counts of workers’ compensation fraud in Southern California. Faced with counts of felony fraud, he was picked up by officers of the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division and officers from the Los Angeles County Probation Department and is currently incarcerated. As an employee of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, he filed a claim alleging injury to his back while ending an altercation within the classroom.
In March 2009, he saw a physician for an evaluation. During that time, he stated that he was harmed during the fight. In April 2009 and December 2009, he allegedly provided false information to investigators about his injuries. Even though he claimed that the damage to his back was related to an incident on school grounds, investigators concluded that was not the case.
Pursuant to the investigation, the detectives claimed that the whole incident was fabricated as a way to take advantage of worker’s compensation benefits available to the teaching assistant through his employer. The individual is being charged with four felony counts of fraud and one count of attempted perjury. Depending on whether he is convicted on all counts or not, there is a chance he may end up facing five years in prison.
A criminal defense attorney can work with the individual’s charged with these types of crimes to ensure that all relevant facts are exposed. It’s important that all material produced by the investigators is reviewed to ensure that the defendant’s rights have not be violated. Criminal defense attorneys can also determine whether there is additional evidence to present to the court that may have a bearing on the outcome of the case. Strong defenses can be built to challenge white collar crime charges.
Source: Insurance Journal, “Southern California Educator Arrested For Workers’ Comp Fraud,” Oct. 9, 2012