You Can Run, But You Can Not Hide in Work Comp Fraud

The fraudulent scheme began in April 2010 when Laurendeau legitimately dislocated his shoulder on the job while working for A Team Painting of Bar Harbor. He did not return to work and a year-long recovery followed. Over the course of that year, he periodically denied any earnings when asked by MEMIC and collected full wage replacement benefits.

Laurendeau’s crime was unwittingly undone by his father who also worked for A Team and who mentioned to the company’s owner that his son had been “doing some stuff” on the island. One small town a hired investigator later, Laurendeau was discovered working odd jobs at a large estate where he earned thousands of dollars for his work. During this time, he had continued to report to MEMIC that he had no other earnings while collecting full workers comp benefit. Subpoenaed payment records from the estate served as the final piece of incriminating evidence.

“This is a great example of the slippery slope of insurance fraud. An injured worker fakes a prolonged recovery to continue collecting benefits, and then becomes tempted to make extra money on the side. They probably rationalize that as long as nobody knows, it’s okay,” said John Marr, senior vice president of claims at MEMIC. “But it’s not. Not to his employer. Not to the whole system that is linked financially to other business owners. Not to the honest injured workers who can suffer from the stigma of insurance fraud.” [WCx]