Woman charged with filing phony worker comp claims
From Staff Reports October 18, 2012 1:36PM
Updated: November 20, 2012 10:59AM
A McHenry woman has been charged with defrauding employers in Algonquin, East Dundee and Geneva out of nearly $90,000 in workers’ compensation payments.
Tracy Williams, 43, was arrested late Wednesday on charges of workers’ compensation fraud, aggravated fraud, insurance fraud and perjury, according to a statement from the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Madigan’s criminal complaint alleges Williams concocted phony injuries suffered at work and filed fraudulent claims for workers’ compensation benefits at Mastertek Auto Repair in Algonquin, Thornton’s Gas Station and Store in East Dundee, and Johnson’s Controls Inc. in Geneva.
Williams was being held Thursday in lieu of $90,000 bail on the charges.
“The workers’ compensation system is supposed to cover costs of employees who are injured on the job,” Madigan said. “The evidence in this case shows the defendant was intent on defrauding the system for her own benefit.”
Following an investigation, the Illinois Department of Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit referred the case to Madigan’s office for prosecution. According to the criminal complaint, Williams filed four workers’ compensation claims over nearly three years, each for thousands of dollars in benefit payments for injuries that never occurred, the statement said.
In one instance, the state alleges Williams lied about an injury to her left shoulder when she falsely claimed a customer punched her while on the job.
“Workers’ compensation fraud is a serious crime,” DOI Director Andrew Boron said in the statement. “The Department of Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit is dedicated to rooting out the theft of benefits. We are pleased to work with the attorney general to pursue those who defraud the system, hurting taxpayers and beneficiaries alike.”
