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By Ira T. Deutsch
During the first week of March 1997, my company was exhibiting at the California Self Insurers Association convention in San Diego. During the afternoon of the second day of the exhibition, the account manager of a company we had not previously been acquainted with approached our booth. She asked if we were available to conduct an investigation right there on the spot IN THE CONVENTION HALL.
It seems that one of her employees had been scheduled to be terminated for poor job performance. Apparently, he had somehow discovered that he was about to lose his job, and in an effort to avoid or at least delay termination, decided to have surgery on his knee.
According to our “now” client, her employee had previously been vacillating about whether or not to have surgery performed, but upon learning of the pending termination he elected to have the surgery in order to place himself in a state of disability, which would not only stay his termination but would allow him to collect benefits while recovering from the surgical procedure. Our client went on to explain that while she was innocently walking through the exhibit hall, she literally stumbled across her employee working as a vendor for one of the other companies exhibiting at the convention. Both amazed and incensed, she hired us on the spot to conduct an investigation into her employee’s activities.
Utilizing a suitable pretext, one of our investigators approached the employee and inquired as to the services he was exhibiting. After listening to a somewhat lengthy, half-hour sales pitch, our investigator requested time to think about the matter and inquired about obtaining a business card. The subject said that he didn’t have any of his business cards and offered one of his “partner’s” business cards. In order to authenticate the employee’s participation, our investigator asked him to write his name on the back of the card, which he did. After securing the business card evidencing his involvement, we apprised the client, who immediately rushed off to call her corporate office. Upon returning from the phone booth, she asked for a video record of the subject’s endeavors.
By this time, the exhibition portion of the convention was drawing to a close. With the raffle drawings being held in the aisle where the subject’s booth was positioned, our investigator decided to set up the camera as if he were planning to film the drawing of prizes. Although his position was somewhat tenuous, with guests and exhibitors moving randomly about, he clearly documented the breaking down of the subject’s exhibit booth.
The employee was apparently oblivious to our investigation, as were the other conventioneers.
This is a true story, not a joke. If it were a joke, I guess the punch line would be, “It certainly appears to be amazing that someone would attempt to commit fraud in the midst of a Workers’ Compensation convention”
Ira T. Deutsch is the owner of Trinity Investigations in Agoura Hills, California. He can be reached at (818) 991-2311.
.© Copyright 1997 Alikim Media