Puyallup man charged with 57 counts of theft for workers' comp fraud
Posted By C.R. Roberts on November 6, 2009 at 6:00 am
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Christopher Robin Briejer of Puyallup was arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court Thursday on state charges that he misrepresented claims to the State Department of Labor and Industries.
The state contends that between January of 2004 and April of 2008, Briejer received 121 state checks totaling $258,995 for time-loss compensation, $75,295 in vocational retraining and $75,295 in medical services, plus vocational rehabilitation benefits – for a total of $336,000.
Briejer pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He is not yet represented by an attorney.
Briejer first claimed compensation following an injury in early 2000, the state said in its court filing, and he refiled the claim four years later. Briejer, the state says, suffered a subsequent injury – whereas Briejer said his worsened condition was due to the original injury, suffered when under the state’s insurance umbrella.
The department “stopped benefit payments after an investigation determined that Briejer had suffered an unrelated injury in October 2003. At the time, he was self-employed and not paying for workers' compensation insurance,” L and I will say in a press release due to be released later today.
Each count against Briejer carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The court could also order him to repay the $366,000 in benefits collected illegally, if the charges are proven.
In a phone conversation, Briejer last evening denied the charges. “They’ve been harassing me for years,” he said of L and I investigators. “They took every check the sent me, every payment, and made that a theft charge.
“Their claims are wrong,” he said.
A retired carpenter currently subsisting on state DSHS payments – the L and I payments have stopped – Briejer said, “I have a permanent back injury with permanent damage to my spine.”
The charging documents mention “Briejer’s activities such as mountain climbing and ‘rock crawling.’”
Last evening he said he attempts to keep himself in good physical condition. In his 40s, Briejer last climbed Mount Rainier in 2008, he said.
“It doesn’t take a back to climb a mountain, it takes legs,” he said. “I’m an active injured person. Even though I’m injured, I take care of my body. My doctors are 100 percent in favor of me hiking.”
L and I began investigating Briejer based on an anonymous tip on its fraud Web site, www.Fraud.Lni.wa.gov. Anyone who suspects fraud may also call L and I's fraud hotline at 888-811-5974.
“The information from the public was vital to our investigation,” says Carl Hammersburg, manager of L and I's Fraud Prevention and Compliance Program, in today's release. “Reporting your suspicions about fraud helps protect legitimate employers and their injured workers who really deserve benefits.”
Prepare yourself for similar claims when Big Government takes over handing out "free" health care.
One count in each state of the country???
Why does it take 57 fraudulent claims for the State to figure out that any of the claims are fraudulent?
Maybe on the first back injury claim the vocational training should have been for a less physically demanding (like mountain climbing) vocation.
"Briejer pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance"
Another Washington State Hug-A-Thug Moment !
Next !
If the numbers don't add up, an alarm goes off.
There are many claimants who are denied for
a righteous claim.
Soap4BeOh, you sound like a friend of mine who insisted there are 52 states in the USA. Only 50.
What surprises me in this article is that Briejer received about $2,150 per week in L&I comp. Amazing money for a self-employed carpenter.
And Crusader, if you think that insurance, or "Big Government" for that matter, ferreting out fraud is a bad thing thing then you are crusading for the wrong people.
Nope RB- just making fun of our president who said he had visited 50 states here and believed he had "7 more to go". I suggest you keep up with the class.
Your math is wrong each check is for 2 weeks worth of work. L : I pays bi-weekly. So Robin was making 1075.00 per week.
Good job catching a scammer. People like this make the rates go up for the rest of us. I've had a back injury claim with L&I in the past, and believe me, to hike or climb, you need your back as well as your legs.
With the state, you have rights to contest them, and continue to receive a check until it is resolved. No one is ever retrained without getting a lawyer.