Columbus, OH – Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Administrator/CEO Steve Buehrer recently announced the selection of Rick Gregory as Director of BWC’s Special Investigations Department (SID). As Director of SID, Gregory will oversee 123 employees who work to deter, detect, investigate and prosecute workers’ compensation fraud. The department pursues cases of claimant, medical provider and employer fraud by identifying savings, recovering dollars, disallowing claims, and pursuing prosecutions.
“Rick brings a high level of expertise to this position with more than 30 years in the public sector, and 20 as an executive level leader in law enforcement, public safety and criminal investigations,” said Buehrer. “I am pleased to have Rick leading our aggressive efforts to identify wrongdoing and return dollars to the State Insurance Fund to protect injured workers’ benefits and keep employers’ premiums as low as possible.”
Gregory was most recently Chief of Police for the city of Provo, Utah, where he was responsible for a workforce of more than 150 and recently implemented a new community policing program to prevent crime and enhance effectiveness of the department. He was previously acting public safety director and police chief in New Castle County, Delaware. There, he was responsible for the oversight of all police, emergency medical services, emergency communications and the Office of Emergency Management.
His prior work includes more than 20 years with the Florida Highway Patrol. He received multiple promotions after beginning his career as a Trooper and last served as Lt. Colonel. Among his many duties in that role was assisting in the management of day-to-day operations of the agency to include homeland/domestic security, emergency response, field level investigations and statewide coordination with local, county and state agencies.
Gregory holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Barry University in Orlando, Florida. He also attended the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
In 2008, Gregory received a personal tribute from both the State of Delaware House of Representatives and the State Senate for outstanding leadership and dedication to the community.
Gregory began his duties today.