Ohio Man Sentenced For Workers’ Compensation Fraud

A Mansfield, Ohio, man has been sentenced in the Richland County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to fraud following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Special Investigations Department (SID).

According to the BWC, Roger Roseberry was ordered to pay at least $500 per month to the bureau and will face incarceration for six years if he fails to pay. He was also sentenced to five years of community control.

Roseberry was collecting Permanent Disability from the BWC for an injury that included total loss of use of his right arm and both legs due to Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, also known as RSD. An investigation began after Roseberry submitted an application for a lump sum settlement in the amount of $617,000. The SID’s investigation revealed Roseberry had use of both his legs, as well as his right arm.

“Injured worker fraud draws resources from workers who have legitimately been injured on the job, and unfairly raises premiums for employers who are working to maintain safe workplaces,” said SID Director Tom Wersell.

The BWC reported that Special Agents conducted several days of surveillance and observed Roseberry operating a motor vehicle, driving long distances, walking, opening and closing doors, holding items and writing. The videos were later shown to Roseberry’s treating physicians who indicated the video contradicted the conditions allowed in his workers’ compensation claim.

On March 30, 2009, Roseberry pleaded guilty in Richland County Common Pleas Court to one count of workers’ compensation fraud, a third degree felony and one count of theft, a fourth degree felony. As part of the plea agreement, Roseberry has agreed to repay $23,536.92 in restitution and $7,000 in investigative costs.

Source: Ohio BWC, ohiobwc.com