Austin, TX – The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation recently announced that a grand jury has returned indictments against three attorneys and two law firms in Lewisville and Houston. The indictments stem from DWC Fraud Unit investigations that were referred to DWC’s prosecutor embedded in the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
The first round of indictments involve Leslie Casaubon, Roger Farahmand, and the Langford, Wise and Farahmand Law firm. The indictments allege that from July 1, 2017, to August 31, 2019, Casaubon and her staff submitted billing to DWC’s attorney fee processing system for work they did not do. Leslie Casaubon is currently under indictment and has a similar matter pending in Travis County’s 460th Judicial District Court.
The defendants are charged with engaging in organized crime, a first-degree felony and securing the execution of a document by deception, a second-degree felony. If convicted each could face up to life in prison and a $10,000 dollar fine.
The grand jury also returned indictments against Houston attorney Adam Henderson and the Adam Henderson Law Firm. The indictment alleges that between January 1, 2012, to January 31, 2019, Henderson submitted bills for work he did not do.
The defendants are charged with securing the execution of a document by deception, a first-degree felony and tampering with a government record, a second-degree felony. If convicted each could face up to life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Attorneys who represent injured employees in the Texas workers’ compensation system submit their fees through an automated system at DWC. Those fees are taken out of injured employees’ benefits. As a result of the false and fraudulent fee bills the defendants were paid more than $900,000.
“When attorneys overbill for services it takes income from injured workers and it prolongs the length of the claim,” says Debra Knight, DWC’s Deputy Commissioner of Compliance and Investigations. “We appreciate the partnership with the Travis County District Attorney’s office in pursuing this type of fraud.”
DWC adopted an attorney fee rule in January 2017 to allow DWC to monitor attorney billing more effectively.
An indictment is an allegation of criminal conduct. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: TDI-DWC