Former Lima resident convicted of workers’ comp fraud

Filing false reports of employment searches leads to jail sentence and fine

Friday, Jan. 12, 2007

A former Lima resident was convicted of workers’ compensation fraud for filing false reports of employment searches with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

Steven Siefker was convicted in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The court ordered Siefker to repay BWC $3,117.20 in restitution and to serve six months in jail to run concurrently with a prison sentence he is serving for other crimes.

“Workers’ compensation is intended to help men and women who have been injured at work,” said acting Administrator/CEO Tina Kielmeyer. “We are committed to ensuring that we deliver our services fairly and we protect the system from those that try to abuse it.”

Siefker’s restitution included $500 in investigative costs. Seifker injured his ankle in 2001 when he slipped on ice while getting out of a truck. He was a truck driver for Diversified Contract Services. Since that time he received temporary total disability, living maintenance disability and non-working wage loss.

A BWC claims service specialist became suspicious after observing Siefker submit job search forms three months after allegedly conducting the job search. This was necessary to continue receiving non-working wage loss benefits. The claims service specialist questioned the legitimacy of the job contacts and learned that some of the places he claimed to have applied for jobs were not in business at the time of application.

BWC’s special investigations department opened the case in 2005 and closed it in 2006.

The special investigations department has received, researched and appropriately processed 2,452 new fraud allegation during the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

To report workers’ compensation fraud, call1-800-OHIOBWC, or call your local BWC customer service office and ask for the fraud unit. You can also submit an allegation on BWC’s Web site at ohiobwc.com.

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Media Contact: Nancy Smeltzer, (614) 752-7558