Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Mark W. Harrison (age 45), with a last known address of 178 Waterman Avenue, Apartment 48, North Providence, pleaded nolo contendere before Providence Superior Court Special Magistrate Patrick T. Burke to obtaining money under false pretenses for collecting in excess of $3,000 in Workers' Compensation insurance benefits while employed.
Harrison was sentenced to four years probation and ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $3,828 to the State of Rhode Island.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between December 23, 2010 and June 6, 2011, Harrison failed to report that he was working at Buckley & Son Fuel, located in Johnston, RI, while he was simultaneously receiving Workers' Compensation insurance benefits.
"In the past few months, our office has returned tens of thousands of dollars to the State of Rhode Island through cases like this in which individuals thought they could manipulate the system to line their own pockets. We are putting them on notice that those who defraud the system will be punished. Workers' Compensation insurance is an important safety net for workers who suffer on-the-job injuries, and abuse will not be tolerated," said AG Kilmartin.
"Workers' Compensation can provide medical expenses and lost wages to employees who are injured on the job," said Charles J. Fogarty, director of the RI Department of Labor and Training. "If someone is working while collecting, that's fraud."
Collin P. Hanrahan, an Investigator at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Workers' Compensation Fraud and Compliance Unit led the investigation. Special Assistant Attorney General Genevieve Allaire Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General and the State of Rhode Island. Funded by RI DLT, Allaire Johnson prosecutes all unemployment insurance fraud, workers' compensation fraud, prevailing wage violations and labor standards fraud cases.