Wash. Worker Pleads Guilty in Workers’ Comp Case

A 25-year-old Central Washington man, Fernando Palestino, has pleaded guilty in Chelan County Superior Court to first-degree theft, second-degree perjury and first-degree identity theft after he was reportedly caught working at a variety of jobs while he was collecting workers’ compensation for a workplace injury.

Palestino was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to repay $24,000 to the state’s workers’ comp system. Palestino pleaded guilty in exchange for the county prosecutor agreeing to not file any additional charges against him.

The case grew out of a head injury Palestino claimed he suffered in February 2001 when he slipped and fell while working at the Stevens Pass Ski Resort. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) attempted to close the claim in May of that year. Palestino appealed, reportedly telling doctors that the injury left him depressed and unable to drive and work.

An L&I claim manager requested an investigation of Palestino after his condition failed to improve despite medical treatment. L&I fraud investigators crosschecked employment records with the Department of Employment Security and determined that Palestino was working at as many as four different jobs in Washington orchards, reportedly using three different names and Social Security numbers – none of them his. L&I turned its investigation over to the Chelan County Prosecutor, who eventually filed criminal charges against Palestino.

The $24,000 Palestino has been ordered to repay includes $18,990 in time-loss benefits and $5,045 for the cost of medical treatment. In addition, L&I is pursuing a civil case against Palestino to recover another $12,000 in penalties. Palestino currently is being held in the Chelan County Jail.

L&I has taken steps to more effectively detect and prosecute workers, employers and health-care providers who abuse the workers’ compensation insurance system. Earlier this week, the agency suspended the registration of three contractors who owe more than $600,000 in insurance premiums, penalties and interest.