The Tulare County District Attorney’s office slashed its workers’ comp anti-fraud program to a single, part-time deputy district attorney (DDA) and will no longer handle its own investigations of suspected workers’ comp fraud in any of its various forms. It substantially decreased its request for funding. The move comes against a rise in violent crime, …
Thirty-two district attorneys are splitting nearly $53 million to fight workers’ comp fraud in California next year. The number of DAs getting funds is down one from last year, as Tehema County did not reapply. California employers provide the funds to combat workers’ compensation fraud in all its various forms – including premium fraud, provider …
A federal district court judge laid down a 96-month prison sentence on BaronHR and Checkmate Staffing owner Luis E. Perez for running a multi-year scheme that avoided paying an estimated $60 million in payroll taxes. The sentence includes 59 months in prison for the tax evasion charge and 36 months for aiding and assisting in …
The California State Bar Court issued an order of public reproval for attorney Matthew Rifat after a trial. Still, it rejected the bar association’s effort to have his license revoked for operating a bookkeeping company at the center of a major workers’ compensation fraud ring. Rifat had been indicted along with others running the alleged …
The convicted head of a workers’ comp bribery scheme that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent MRI services claims is asking the United States Supreme Court to take up the case and reverse his conviction. The petition for certiorari argues that Sam Solakyan was convicted under a fraud theory that several other federal …
District Attorneys in Los Angeles and San Diego notched victories against two employers for underreporting payroll to avoid workers’ comp premiums. The San Diego DA won a $1 million restitution order against a plumbing company, while the Los Angeles DA’s office secured a nearly $2.3 million order against a couple operating three delivery services. John …
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal members voted to reject a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc by the convicted head of a workers’ comp bribery scheme that generated $263 million in fraudulent claims for MRI services. Sam Solakyan filed the petition after the Ninth Circuit affirmed all counts of his conviction last fall. …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation agreed to drop nearly $200,000 in administrative penalties against Keenan and Associates, a Third-Party Administrator that failed a DIR claims audit. For its part, Keenan agreed to fix the problems identified in the audit and drop its appeal. The settlement leaves the failing grade intact. The deal was revealed as …