Selma Resident Jailed, Must Pay $65,951 in Workers’ Comp Restitution

Ricky Lee George, 47, a resident of Selma, Calif., was sentenced to three years in state prison for his conviction of one count of workers’ compensation insurance fraud.

The charges were the result of an investigation by the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office Insurance Fraud Unit that revealed George secretly worked while collecting disability.

On May 12, 1997, nine days after being hired by Fagundes Agribusiness in Hanford, Calif., George alleged he was injured when a 1,500-pound bale of straw fell from a haystack hitting his head and shoulder. George filed a workers’ comp claim with Golden Eagle Insurance as a result of the reported injury.

George received medical treatment for the injury and later returned to modified work duties. He was later placed on temporary disability because he complained of dizziness while at work.

Fagundes Agribusiness employees learned that George was allegedly working at other jobs that required the same physical abilities as his job at Fagundes Agribusiness. Golden Eagle Insurance obtained surveillance videotape over a period of several months that showed George reportedly performing carpentry work and other physical activities that he told doctors he could no longer do.

Additionally, George was ordered to pay $65,951 in restitution.

Topics Fraud Workers' Compensation Agribusiness