Workers’ compensation fraud is always good fodder for HRSBT! Case in point, a New York man was recently caught defrauding the system, as he claimed to be unable to work at his job, yet he was still able to teach kickboxing.
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The man, a Verizon employee from Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty to receiving over $37,000 in workers’ compensation because he was caught teaching kickboxing classes. The New York Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott said in a statement that the man was caught on tape using his martial arts skills on a punching bag.
“This defendant’s repeated assertions that he was physically unable to work as a telephone company lineman, while at the same time demonstrating kicks and power punches as a martial arts instructor, was a brazen fraud perpetrated on a critical safety net meant for honest hard-working New Yorkers,” Leahy Scott said in a statement.
The man claimed he was unable to work as a lineman for Verizon Wireless and starting collecting workers’ comp in 2007. In 2012, his wife and cousin opened the kickboxing gym, and the man proceeded to teach classes there. During this time, he repeatedly told doctors he was unable to work and was incapacitated. He plead guilty to petit larceny and will not be allowed to receive any workers’ compensation in the future.
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Melissa Blazejak is a Senior Web Content Editor at BLR. She has written articles for HR.BLR.com and the HR Daily Advisor websites and is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR.BLR.com and HRLaws.com. She has been at BLR since 2014. She graduated with a BA of Science, specializing in Communication, from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2008. Most recently, she graduated in 2014 with a MS of Educational Technology.