A Thurston County, Wash., man who reportedly tried to pass off a barroom brawl injury as a workplace accident has pleaded guilty to stealing state workers’ compensation insurance benefits.
Chuck Wayne Riccio, 40, of Yelm, pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree theft. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Sharonda Amamilo ordered Riccio to pay court costs and reimburse L&I for his medical care.
The case resulted from a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries investigation.
Riccio filed an L&I claim in October 2018, stating he injured his right hand at his new job at a bathtub and shower manufacturer. But someone who knew Riccio reportedly told L&I he actually hurt his hand in a bar fight in Yelm in August 2018, according to charging papers.
The acquaintance provided investigators with a text Riccio sent when he was at a clinic around the same time he filed the L&I claim. He reportedly texted that his hand hurt from the fight, but that he told the clinic “i kinda said it happened at work.”
Later that day, he texted photos of an L&I form and himself holding up his bandaged hand and the words, “Now L&I will cover it.”
L&I investigators also interviewed several of Riccio’s co-workers, who disputed he was injured at work, and a man who said he was reportedly punched by Riccio in the Yelm bar fight.
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case based on L&I’s investigation. If Riccio is not convicted of any other crimes and follows other conditions of his sentence for one year, he can ask the court to allow him to change his plea and to dismiss the case.
L&I administers the state workers’ comp insurance system.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
GM Ends OnStar Driver Safety Program After Privacy Complaints 
Chubb to Acquire MGA Healthy Paws From Aon 
North Carolina Adjuster and Son Charged With Embezzlement in Roof Jobs 
Investment Funds File New Suits Over Lighthouse Insurance Collapse in 2022 
