Two Plead Guilty to Working While Collecting Injury Benefits

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 | 0

Just a few weeks after claiming he was injured in 2016 while working at a restaurant, a Cleveland-area man went back to work. Now, he must pay some $4,000 in restitution and a $500 fine after pleading guilty last week to workers' compensation fraud.

Anthony Caputo, 67, worked for four different employers while collecting benefits and never reported his employment, officials with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation said in a news release.

Most recently, investigators, acting on a tip, observed Caputo working as a valet at a hospital.

“In fact, we found he went back to work just a few weeks after his on-the-job injury," said Jim Wernecke, director of BWC’s special investigations department. 

In another fraud case, a Springfield woman pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud Sept. 13 after investigators found her working as a consultant while collecting BWC benefits.

Linda Cline paid $6,759 in restitution prior to pleading guilty to the first-degree misdemeanor.

A judge sentenced her to six months of probation.