Miami investigation unveils workers’ comp scam

• Juana Ledezma and Luis Ledezma were arrested for workers’ comp premium fraud and Grand theft in Miami for allegedly concealing payroll to avoid paying a higher workers’ compensation premium.
• An investigation revealed that during the policy period, the couple would have been assessed an additional $127,660.00 in premium charges.
• The Ledezmas actively concealed payroll to avoid paying a higher workers’ compensation premium.
• In 2020, Ms. Ledezma applied for worker compensation coverage with Clear Spring Insurance Company, with an annual estimated remuneration for the policy year would have been $500,000.
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Workers’ comp claim helps lead to landfill investigation

• The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is probing conditions at a King County landfill for elevated arsenic levels, which some employees claim negatively affected workers’ health.
• One 75-year-old worker recently filed a workers’ comp claim after doctors informed him in December that they believed the respiratory problems were work-related.
• The main claimed arsenic was one of the elements involved in creating the lesions on my lungs, in addition to the asbestos and the dust there
• The state agency opened a health and safety inspection at the King County Cedar Hills Regional Landfill focusing on how the county assesses arsenic exposure and how the county trains employees on chemical hazards and personal protective equipment.
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Sentencing for workers’ comp fraud

• The former owner of a medical supply and billing company and the former CEO were sentenced in Arkansas for their roles in three separate conspiracies to defraud the U.S. government and private workers’ comp insurers.
• Hunter Burroughs, 44, and Stephen Andrews, 50, were the two former executives for the Rogers-based company who were sentenced in the trial.
• The two committed acts of defrauding both federal and private workers’ compensation insurers by way of a billing and kickback fraud scheme involving multiple physicians and medical clinics.
• Burroughs will receive four years in federal prison, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Andrews will serve 32 months of incarceration followed by a three-year term of supervised release.
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Refinery workers hurt, file for workers’ comp

• Nine Parkland Refining in Canada workers sought medical attention for injuries after the release of heavy odorous smoke caused health issues.
• The issue with a unit stack sent nine employees to first aid and caused four others to evacuate, according to WorkSafeBC, which adjudicates and provides compensation for workers who get ill or injured on the job.
• Parkland Refining violated the Workers Compensation Act for failing to immediately report the incident until after 7 p.m. Sunday.
• The refinery had been shut down due to cold weather. The act requires the major release of a hazardous substance to be reported immediately.
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