Every now and then, your humble blogger puts on that old Johnny Cash CD to hear the man in black sing of the Folsom Prison Blues.  My favorite verse?

“I said I slipped down stairways, and then I hurt my foot;
I couldn’t guard the prison, I couldn’t wear my boot;

And then they said they filmed me, they saw me playing ball;
So now I’m a defendant, and hearing Folsom call…”

Ok, so maybe the Man in Black sang it a bit differently, but the lyrics aren’t that bad for the story of Todd Phillips, a 17-year veteran Folsom correctional officer recently charged with felony fraud.  It appears that the evidence against him consists of several competitive softball tournaments caught on tape, as well as other alleged evidence of him exceeding his claimed work restrictions.

Time will tell the extent, if any, of Mr. Phillips’ fraud, but your humble blogger wishes the District Attorney’s office the best of luck in this case.  Having some experience with the excellent deputy district attorneys in the Sacramento DA’s Insurance Fraud Unit (not as a defendant, I assure you), I’m fairly certain charges would not be filed unless there was actual wrongdoing.

But, this is an important lesson for all of us on the defense community and for employees in general.  Workers’ Compensation Fraud hurts everyone – it turns a potentially productive worker into a fraudulent parasite, it costs society the time and resources to investigate, prosecute, and ultimately punish criminal behavior, and it raises prices on the consuming public.

After all, if the cost of doing business goes up because an employer has to deal with fraudulent claims, the cost of the product on the shelf is going up with it.

In any case – good luck Sacramento DA!