Texas Mutual Sacks Grocery Truck Driver For Fraud

Austin, TX (CompNewsNetwork) - Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported today that a Washington County Court sentenced a Brenham, Texas man on workers' compensation fraud-related charges. The court sentenced Richard Supak to 12 months' probation and ordered him to pay $1,485 in restitution to Texas Mutual, a $500 fine and court costs.
 
Supak reported a job-related injury while working as a truck driver for Brenham Wholesale Grocery. He claimed he was unable to work as a result of his injuries, and Texas Mutual began paying him income benefits.
 
Meanwhile, Texas Mutual uncovered evidence that Supak was working as a construction helper for a Burton, Texas construction company while receiving disability income benefits. Investigators call this type of scam double-dipping because the claimant collects benefits for being too injured to work when he or she is gainfully employed.
 
Texas law requires claimants to contact their workers' comp carrier when they return to work. Left unchecked, double-dipping and other workers' comp fraud can lead to higher premiums for all Texas employers.
 
An anonymous tip provided through Texas Mutual's Fraud StoppersSM program sparked the Supak investigation. The company offers potential cash rewards for tips that lead to arrests or indictments. 

About Texas Mutual Insurance Company
 
Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Company is the state's leading provider of workers' compensation insurance, with approximately 25 percent of the market. The company has zero tolerance for fraud. In 2007, it saved or recovered $4.7 million through its claimant fraud investigations. It recovered another $1.1 million from employers who tried to illegally lower their premium, and it prevented $1.3 million in health care provider fraud.

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