Texas Mutual Insurance Company has announced that a Travis County, Texas, district court has sentenced a man on workers’ compensation fraud charges.
Richard R. Gutierrez, of Seguin, Texas, was convicted of a felony and sentenced to two years’ deferred adjudication. He will pay $16,727.70 in restitution to Texas Mutual.
Gutierrez reported an on-the-job injury while working as a merchandiser for Tri-City Distributors in New Braunfels, Texas, the insurance company reported. Gutierrez claimed that the injury rendered him unable to work, and Texas Mutual began paying benefits to him. However, the insurer then discovered that Gutierrez was working as a seasonal employee for another business. Insurance investigators call this type of scam “double-dipping” – collecting benefits for supposedly being too injured to work while actually being gainfully employed.
Texas law requires claimants to contact their workers’ compensation carrier when they return to work.
“Left unchecked, double-dipping and other workers’ comp fraud can lead to higher premiums for all Texas employers,” Texas Mutual said.
