Columbus, OH – A Cincinnati (Hamilton County) woman pleaded guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of workers’ compensation fraud on August 6.
BWC’s Special Investigation Department opened an investigation into Charlotte Ellison after receiving an allegation from a BWC employee who suspected she was submitting false job searches in order to qualify for non-working wage loss disability benefits.
The Investigation revealed Ellison did submit false job searches resulting in $3,896.93 in disability payments. During this period, Ellison submitted 63 pages with 154 in-person alleged job searches and 83 alleged online job searches via Craigslist.com, for a total of 237 job searches. All 65 job contacts interviewed indicated that Ellison never sought employment or submitted an application as she indicated to BWC in order to receive her disability.
Prior to sentencing, Ellison paid all but $540.29 of the $3,896.93 she owed BWC. A judge in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ordered her to repay the remaining $540.29 and sentenced her to days in jail, which will be suspended if restitution is paid in full by February 6, 2016.
Source: Ohio BWC