Voc-Rehab Outfit Charged with $22 Million Fraud Scheme - Greg Grinberg
This article is reposted from WCDefenseCA.com, a blog published by Gregory Grinberg, Managing Partner of Gale, Sutow & Associates SF Bay South Office. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Gale, Sutow & Associates.
Ok, dear readers, we are back!
Did we express gratitude for all the good things that we have (and all the bad things that we don’t)? Are we still working our way through leftovers? Did we engage in the latest fad of calling online shopping “virtual black Friday” when it’s really just… you know… online shopping?
Anywho, the holiday season is far from over. December is loaded with special celebration an the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow awaits us all at midnight on 12/31 – 2020 becomes 2021 and everything should start returning to normal. That’s how this works… right?
In the meantime, there’s no reason not to keep up to date on current events. As the saying goes, the path to hell is paved with good intentions, and nowhere is that clearer than with the exploitable scam that has been developed to fit the supplemental job displacement benefit voucher scheme.
In theory the voucher program is a good one. Instead of padding the pockets of applicant attorneys or physicians, this is a benefit that goes specifically and, presumably, exclusively to the injured worker to develop job skills and mitigating the impact loss resulting from industrial injuries. I have seen injured workers use the voucher to take computer classes, brush up on existing skills to modernize their abilities, or subsidize higher education classes for an entirely new career. It’s rare, but it does happen.
Allegations have flown, of course, about the voucher system being abused. For example, the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education went after the iLearn institute for alleged misdoings, although I understand the citation is still being contested by the owner, despite the school itself having closed.
In November of 2019, your humble blogger reported on the charges against the owner of Advanced Vocational Institute in Santa Clara County.
Well, recently the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced that it has charged 14 people in a $22 million fraud scheme having to do with vouchers as well! According to the district attorney’s release, the accused were cashing out vouchers by fraudulently billing the full value of the vouchers for services never rendered, and then giving a portion of that money to the injured workers.
Because the right to a voucher can be monetized by a savvy and motivated third party, the cost of each claim goes up. An injured worker might be entitled to a voucher but might have no interest in pursuing it (or using all of it). But if a third party can gain a fraudulent benefit from the voucher, then each case would have the higher cost before it closes.
On top of that, when the supplemental return to work fund is pursued, the fund gets more and more exhausted each year. Well employers and insurers must replenish that fund every year. If fraudulent voc-rehab facilities “charge” applicants for helping them apply for supplemental return to work benefits, that fund gets depleted faster and the employers and insurers have more to replenish each year.
So, from the bottom of my cold, dark, defense attorney heart, I urge my beloved readers to take a good look at litigating vouchers – this is not a minor expense but an area of the law worth monitoring and investigating, let alone litigating. After all, the Riverside County DA is alleging $22 million in fraud!
Straight on till Wednesday, dear readers!