You know, dear readers, Darwin’s theory resists challenges based on biology, geography, faith, and even economics.  Darwin’s theory of natural selection endures time and space, and resists the barriers of language.  But there is one fatal flaw to Darwin’s theory – that theory that suggests that some traits die out in a gene pool and others, more adaptable to the environment, become more common with each generation – workers’ compensation.

You see, if Darwin’s theory were truly correct, each year we’d see better and better criminals; more sophisticated and refined frauds.  Instead, we get cases like Mr. Leonel Gonzalez.  Mr. Gonzalez recently plead no contest to one felony count of Workers’ Compensation Fraud, and is set to be sentenced to 180 days in county jail, 3 years of probation, and to pay restitution of nearly $32,000.

An EAMS search reflects that Mr. Gonzalez alleged an injury to the back, sustained in 2006, while employed in that far-away land known as “Southern California-stan-berg-land.”  But, despite claiming to being disabled, surveillance video caught him working out with a punching bag, doing martial arts, planting trees, and even shopping at Costco.  I think it is very important to point out that your humble blogger has no objections to shopping at Costco, although the intersection of Costco’s bulk-sales and their funeral department does present a somewhat grim image.

Now, your humble blogger would have expected Darwin’s theory to take effect quickly in our workers’ comp fraudster gene pool.  Haven’t we seen enough cases of people being videotaped while engaged in strenuous physical activity, sometimes on the same day as they had told a physician or testified at a deposition to near-paralysis?

Hopefully, this blog won’t be cited as any authority in the continuing contentions of appropriate school curriculum, but it should remind us that, despite Mr. Darwin’s valiant efforts in explaining the origin of species, the fraudsters aren’t getting any smarter.  It is diligence on the part of adjusters and investigators that sets up the case, and it is a zealous devotion to justice on the part of prosecutors that results in convictions, restitution orders, and the total invalidation of the “injured” worker’s credibility in a workers’ compensation case.

Have a good week, dear readers; your humble blogger intends to do the same.