Fraud Finders: Ohio BWC Employees Root Out Suspicious Activity

Columbus, OH (WorkersCompensation.com) - You might think that the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) relies solely upon external sources to detect and report workers' compensation fraud. We are fortunate, however, to have well-established strategies to educate and encourage BWC employees to recognize and report suspected fraud.

Enter the BWC Fraud Finders program, which recognizes BWC employees for their roles in detecting and reporting potential workers' compensation fraud. Since the mid-1990s, the program has annually generated hundreds of cases and millions of dollars in savings. During fiscal year (FY) 2014 alone, our internal fraud finders furnished allegations that resulted in 28.3 percent of our 2,055 cases closed last year, and identified a whopping $7.2 million in savings. BWC employees were the sources of 581 cases closed by BWC's Special Investigations Department (SID) during FY 2014.

From the start, we've conducted fraud red-flag training for our agency colleagues. These training sessions furnish claims, medical and employer service specialists with knowledge in detecting fraud and several means to most efficiently refer their allegations to our department. Several of these cases have already resulted in criminal convictions in 2014. In a July 25 press release, we reported that David Delvecchio was convicted of one count of workers' compensation fraud, a fifth-degree felony, after a BWC claims specialist furnished a fraud allegation to our department. Delvecchio was ordered to pay $26,580.77 in restitution to the BWC, court costs, and to continue mental health counseling. He was also sentenced to five years of basic supervision community control. Due to this particular internal fraud finder's diligence and fraud referral, justice was served.

Members of BWC's SID intelligence unit, who are not eligible for the Fraud Finders program, also detect and refer fraud allegations. During FY 2014, intelligence unit professionals detected 1,072 fraud allegations, which resulted in the identification of $29.5 million in savings.

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