Austin, TX – Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently reported that a Travis County district court sentenced Shannon Drew of Aubrey, Texas on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges.
Drew reported a job-related injury while working as a clinical liaison for Denton Rehabilitation Hospital. She claimed she was unable to work because of the injury. Texas Mutual began paying income benefits to her but discovered she was working as a nurse for another company. Investigators call this type of scam double-dipping because the claimant collects benefits for being too injured to work when he or she is, in fact, gainfully employed.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation prosecutor in Travis County presented the case for indictment. The court sentenced Drew to a Class A misdemeanor with two years deferred adjudication. She will pay $46,007 in restitution to Texas Mutual.
Texas law requires claimants to contact their workers’ comp carrier when they return to work. Left unchecked, double-dipping and other workers’ comp fraud can lead to higher premiums for all Texas employers.
Source: Texas Mutual