Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog
The Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley has recently announced that Maria Oliveira-Soares, a woman from Randolph, Massachusetts, has been charged with two counts of Workers’ Compensation Fraud.
After a referral instigated by the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), AG Coakley’s office began an investigation into Oliveira-Soares’ fraudulent claims for workers’ compensation. According to the investigation, she filed a claim for workers’ compensation in March of 2004 while working for a cleaning company for an injury on the job. She then reported numerous times that she had debilitating pain from her injuries and testified to the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) in August 2005 that she was not working because of these injuries sustained. She then reportedly worked for five different employers while collecting compensation and then even filed a second workers’ compensation claim for injuries while working as a nurse’s assistant in October 2005.
During this time she fraudulently collected over $15,000 in claims. A Suffolk Superior Court has arraigned Oliveira-Soares and she is due in court on June 14 for a pre-trial hearing.
Attorney General Coakley commented, “Workers’ compensation fraud puts an undue strain on many businesses leading to higher premiums that ultimately get passed down to consumers.”
If you have been injured in a work-related accident, contact one of our experienced Boston workers’ compensation lawyers for legal advice and to find out if are entitled to workers’ compensation.
Source:
Randolph Woman Arraigned in Connection with Fraudulently Collecting Over $15,000 in Disability Benefits While Working, Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley Press Release, April 15, 2011
Contact the Massachusetts work injury lawyers at Altman & Altman if you have been injured on the job.
