ROSEVILLE - Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced today that thanks to the hard work of his California Department of Insurance (CDI) fraud investigators, Roseville Bel Air Market Store Director Nichole Leddy and Assistant Store Director Amy Looper each pled no contest to one count of workers' compensation insurance fraud in Placer County Superior Court on December 11, 2007.

"I simply will not tolerate any kind of insurance fraud in California," said Commissioner Poizner. "My fraud investigators are always hard at work, following leads and helping to put fraud perpetrators where they belong - behind bars. I encourage anyone who is aware of fraud schemes to contact my department and help bring these scam artists to justice."

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Leddy and Looper were each sentenced to 45 days county jail, which may be converted to 360 hours community service, and three years formal probation, among other fines and conditions. Leddy agreed to pay $13,500 and Looper agreed to pay $2,500 to the California Workers' Compensation Fraud Fund. This case was a joint investigation between the Fraud Division and the Placer County District Attorney's Office.

In August, Commissioner Poizner announced that Leddy and Looper were arraigned for allegedly committing workers' compensation fraud. Leddy and Looper allegedly encouraged injured employees at Bel Air Market to refrain from filing workers' compensation claims, and instead instructed them to seek treatment through individual health insurance policies. The CDI investigation revealed that Leddy and Looper allegedly discouraged multiple employees from filing claims in order to keep the store record injury-free and earn special store incentives, including bonuses for management.

The investigation also revealed that in one instance, an injured employee was allegedly given cash from the store fund to cover co-payments for private health insurance coverage. Another employee was allegedly instructed to inform her private doctor that an on-duty work injury had occurred at home. The CDI Fraud Division launched this investigation after receiving an anonymous tip in March 2007.

We are still perplexed as to why Commissioner Poizner still refuses to prosecute fraud complaints against Workers Compensation insurance carriers and their attorneys despite a plethora of prima facie complaints brought to the attention of his investigators. But then the money that the Fraud Assessment Commission hands our to deserving Distrct Attorneys around the state comes from them in the form of mandatory surcharges. Could it be that he doesn't want to bite the hand that feeds it?

The Fraud Division is constantly investigating cases in which employees are discouraged from filing workers' compensation claims. If you or someone you know has been injured at work and discouraged from filing a workers' compensation claim, please contact the Fraud Division at (916) 854-5700.