Los Angeles, CA – Kelvin Piazza, 51, of Lakewood was recently arrested on suspicion of grand theft and filing a fraudulent insurance claim. The fraudulent claim was allegedly associated with a non-industrial injury in July 2010 during his employment as a wastewater collector for the city of Los Angeles, Sanitation Department.
“It is the responsibility of each individual to uphold the honesty and integrity of the workers’ compensation system by reporting any change of work status to their disability insurer; to not do so is not only a drain on the system but it is insurance fraud,” said Commissioner Dave Jones.
Piazza was arrested as a result of a criminal investigation involving his disability insurance claim. The investigation revealed that Piazza returned to work full time in June 2011 and failed to notify Standard Insurance Company of his change of employment status and continued to receive and cash disability checks between June 6, 2011 and October 18, 2011 totaling $13,746.
This case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. If convicted Piazza faces a maximum of five years in state prison. He is currently being held on $50,000 bail.
Source: CA DOI