Columbus, OH – The owner of a Cleveland flower shop owes the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) nearly $32,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud in late September.
Mary Green, the owner of Green Thumb Florists, was ordered to pay BWC $31,562, sentenced to five years of community control and fined $315 after pleading guilty Sept. 27 to one fourth-degree felony count of workers compensation fraud in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Acting on a tip, agents with BWC’s special investigations department (SID) discovered Green had altered a BWC certificate to make it appear her business had proper workers compensation coverage, as required by state law. Agents also discovered her actual policy had been in lapsed status since 2011.
“Our agents made multiple site visits, witnessed multiple employees and put Mary Green on notice to bring her BWC policy into compliance with the law,” said SID Director Jim Wernecke. “But when she wouldn’t cooperate, we brought her case to the county prosecutor and now she has a felony on her record. It didn’t have to go this far. We really need employers to reach out to BWC if they’re struggling to pay their premiums.”
Source: Ohio BWC SID