Somebody Stop Me Before I Commit Fraud Again

Friday, June 2, 2006 | 0

Sometimes the claimants with bogus injuries are so incautious that one could suspect they desire enough restraint (provided by others) in order to straighten themselves out.

Our claimant worked for a roofing company and went out on temporary disability alleging a back injury. Had he stayed at home, watching daytime TV, his income stream would have been secure.

But no - he bragged about the swindle in his neighborhood, delighting in getting paid not to work. In many blue-collar areas, such activity is frowned upon. In this instance someone objected and provided an anonymous tip that the claimant was active, faking injury.

That is when we got the case for surveillance. It was one of the easiest cases we ever had. When we got there, the claimant was in the process of roofing his own house. All day long he performed all the functions and activities and motions of a roofer, in living color and with no signs of physical distress.

We came back another day for more confirming film showing an ongoing pattern of activity and physical capability (not just a "good day"). Our claimant was on the roof, hard at work. We were getting more good film when our claimant lost his balance and fell off the roof. Someone in the house called 911, the paramedics arrived and he was transported to the hospital.

All on film.

Perhaps restraint did not arrive quickly enough to suit our claimant and he at some level of consciousness took matters into his hands, eliminating himself as a player in the fraud game by means of a nasty fall. When the wheels of justice grind too slow, for some people continuation of the false claim may become unbearable. Or so it can seem when investigating the easily busted.

Or maybe he just lost his balance.

Article republished with permission from David Morse & Associates (www.davidmorse.com) an independent investigative firm with 36 offices in 14 states.

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