Side Job Costs Bartender $26,578 in Restitution

Monday, September 10, 2018 | 0

A Cleveland-area bartender must pay $26,578 in restitution after pleading guilty last week to a felony workers’ compensation fraud charge.

Clarice L. Ward

A Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge also sentenced 40-year-old Clarice L. Ward to six months in prison, but suspended that for five years of community control, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation said.

The investigation got its start when the BWC learned that Ward was not attending physical therapy appointments for a workplace injury and a bureau contractor hired to deliver care could not reach her. BWC learned that Ward was working at the Final Score Bar in Willowick while collecting income benefits.

“Ms. Ward would not cooperate with our investigators, so we interviewed her former employer and obtained evidence proving her fraudulent activity,” stated Jim Wernecke, director of BWC’s special investigations department.