Youngstown man pleads guilty to fraud

Staff report

Columbus

A Youngstown man who pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud has been ordered to repay more than $6,000 or face jail time, said an official from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

William Vargas was receiving living-maintenance benefits due to a workplace injury but was found to be altering wage statements in order to receive benefits for periods in which he did not work.

The living-maintenance benefit is paid to an injured worker while they are participating in a vocational rehabilitation plan.

“Accurate reporting of income is important, and altering records to skew benefits in your favor is not only misrepresenting the facts, it constitutes fraud,” said Steve Buehrer, the workers’ compensation bureau administrator and CEO.

BWC’s Special Investigations Department received an allegation from a claims-service specialist who managed Vargas’ workers’ compensation claim.

The employee noticed irregularities in pay stub information being submitted by Vargas for his employment with Niles Manufacturing and Signs by Tomorrow. The employee specifically noted that the “year-to-date” earnings listed on the pay stubs did not change from week to week.

SID found that Vargas purposely altered pay stubs and wage statements so that he could receive living- maintenance benefits for periods in which he did not work, and therefore did not incur a wage loss.

Investigators also found that Vargas worked for GLI Pool Products in Youngstown during the time period he concurrently received living-maintenance benefits. He was not permitted to work while receiving those benefits.

Vargas pleaded guilty April 26 to one count of workers’ compensation fraud, a first-degree misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but that sentence was suspended and he was placed on two years of probation. As a condition of probation, he is required to repay $6,107.46 in restitution.

He faces the jail time if he fails to make restitution, BWC officials said.