Austin, TX – Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently reported that Travis County grand juries indicted four claimants, in separate cases, on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. The claimants allegedly collected a combined $22,837 in benefits they were not entitled to.
The following are the claimants and the amount in benefits they allegedly collected illegally:
- Mohammad Abid of Fort Worth, Texas, $8,390;
- Ernest U. Martinez of Midland, Texas, $6,816;
- Michael J. Roberson of Wichita Falls, Texas, $4,300;
- Jose R. Valdez-Ramirez of Giddings, Texas, $3,331.
In all four cases, the claimants reported job-related injuries and claimed they were unable to work because of their injuries. Texas Mutual began paying workers’ compensation income benefits to them.
Meanwhile, Texas Mutual uncovered evidence that the claimants were, in fact, gainfully employed. Texas law requires claimants to contact their workers’ comp carrier when they return to work.
Investigators call this type of scam double-dipping. Left unchecked, double-dipping and other workers’ comp fraud can lead to higher premiums for all Texas employers.
Note: A grand jury indictment is a formal accusation – not a conviction – of criminal conduct.
Source: Texas Mutual/ECPR