Dayton man pleads guilty to workers’ comp fraud of $31K

ajc.com

A Dayton man who secretly had a job while he collected more than $30,000 in temporary total disability benefits faces up to three years in prison.

James Fields, 43, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to workers’ compensation fraud and four counts of tampering with records in a case investigated by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Special Investigation Department.

As part of a plea agreement, three additional counts of tampering with records were dismissed and Fields will be ordered to repay the workers’ comp benefits he received.

Fields fraudulently received approximately $31,000 in benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation between Sept. 21, 2021, and May 19, 2023, the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The tampering charges are for forms completed in September and December 2021, and February, April, May, June and August 2022, according to his indictment.

He is scheduled to be sentenced July 10.

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