Stanislaus Union School District employee guilty of insurance fraud

A Stanislaus Union School District employee was convicted this month of workers’ compensation insurance fraud, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

John Heaton was employed as a campus monitor for the district and reported an on-the-job injury in November 2015. Heaton filed a workers’ compensation claim, and as a result received medical treatment and workers’ compensation benefits.

During a subsequent investigation, it was alleged Heaton presented false statements and material misrepresentations during a meeting with the school district’s return-to-work specialist. Heaton misrepresented facts as it related to his physical abilities and limitations associated with his injury, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

On Jan. 23, Heaton pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud in that he unlawfully and knowingly made a false and fraudulent material statement in support of obtaining workers’ compensation insurance benefits. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, three years of formal probation, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,341.66 for reimbursement of workers’ compensation benefits and investigation costs.

This case was a joint investigation by Probe Information Services, the California Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division and the Amador County District Attorney’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit. The Fraud Unit investigates insurance fraud cases in Stanislaus, Amador and Calaveras counties through a grant provided by the California Department of Insurance.

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Stanislaus Union School District employee guilty of insurance fraud."