North Dakota Man Fined $40,000 for Comp Fraud

A Mandan, N.D., man was ordered to pay over $40,000 in back premium and penalties to the Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) after pleading guilty to a charge of failure to secure workers’ compensation coverage for his employees, a Class C felony, the department announced.

South Central District Court Judge Bruce Romanick also ordered 54-year old William Klesalek to serve two years supervised probation and to pay for all the costs associated with his supervision.

The case against Klesalek began in June 2001 after an injured worker contacted the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of WSI and filed a fraud report against Klesalek. The injured worker reported that Klesalek had asked him to not file a workers’ compensation claim. Klesalek also instructed the injured worker to lie to the treating doctor regarding the nature and cause of his workplace injury.

The accident occurred on June 28, 2001 when the walls of a 12-foot trench caved in on the injured worker. After escaping the trench, the injured worker’s request for ambulance transportation to a medical facility was denied. Instead he was transported by pick-up truck to a shop in Mandan. Then Klesalek instructed him to change his story about how the accident happened before Klesalek would agree to transport him to a nearby hospital.

The injured worker later told investigators he was in so much pain that he went along with the story in order to get treatment for his injuries. A few days later he reported what happened to investigators from WSI.

Last Friday Klesalek was order to pay the past premium due on his 12 employees from 1996-2001 of $10,320 and fined triple that amount. Since he was uninsured at the time of his injury, under North Dakota law, it is the injured worker’s right to pursue a civil remedy against Klesalek.

“There are a couple of lessons learned here we hope for both employers and workers,” said Dave Aberle, director of SIU. “The first is make sure if you are employer that you have coverage on your workers to protect them from workplace injuries and protect you, the employer, from a civil suit in the event of a workplace accident.”

Aberle also added, “If you are a worker injured on the job, it is your right to report that accident to WSI, don’t let an unscrupulous employer try to convince you otherwise.”

Anyone wishing to report suspected workers’ compensation fraud should call (800) 243-3331.

Topics Fraud Workers' Compensation