Sacramento Workers Comp Attorney

Lake County woman sent to prison for fraud

SACRAMENTO -- United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Friday United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. sentenced Nicki Lee Buxmann, 48, of Lake County, to five months in prison, followed by 36 months supervised release including five months home detention, as well as $104,834.57 in restitution for making a false statement or fraud to obtain federal employee's compensation.

Buxmann pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 28.

According to court documents, Buxmann owned and operated the TNT Takeover/MMA Boxing gym in Roseville while at the same time receiving federal workers' compensation benefits from the Department of Labor relating to injuries Buxmann claimed to have sustained while working as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service.

Buxmann stated in several forms she submitted to the Department of Labor that she had no work activities and had earned no income during the time period in which she owned and operated the gym.

An undercover agent also caught Buxmann teaching defensive tactics techniques, replacing light bulbs, cleaning windows and sweeping exercise mats.

"The majority of postal employees who collect compensation benefits have legitimate claims and are truly unable to perform any postal jobs. However, a small percentage abuse the system, costing the Postal Service millions of dollars.

Former Adventist Nurse in California Calls on Sacramento District ...

Sacramento (PRWEB) December 19, 2005

Barbara Clark, the former Adventist nurse suing John Rea, Acting Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations (USDC for EDC CASE: 2:05 – CV – 02410), has called upon Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully to stop avoiding the responsibility of conducting a fraud investigation of the Adventist hospital chain, located in Roseville, CA.

Clark said, “Defendant John Rea’s people have directed me to the Sacramento County D.A.’s office concerning the criminal conspiracy allegations in my lawsuit, then when I contacted the D.A.’s office they just blew me off.”

“Under Senate Bill 1218 workers’ compensation fraud is a felony. District attorneys receive millions from California’s Department of Insurance anti-fraud fund to prosecute this crime. Unfortunately, it is usually small fry work comp cheats that get busted while the ‘big fish’ get away,” cited Clark.

According to Clark, a letter from DIR lawyers, received last week, claimed that although the DIR has licensed the Adventist hospital chain to self-administer workers’ compensation claims, DIR lacks any criminal enforcement power over the hospital chain and that the nurse should direct her allegations to the county D.A. (the nurse has had a workers’ compensation claim with the Adventist hospital chain for over ten years).

Clark alleged in the federal lawsuit that a defense attorney and a claims adjustor, representing the Adventists, were involved in a criminal conspiracy to – among other things – violate provisions of the anti-Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Act (42 USC 1985) and the medical records confidentiality portions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

Apparently the federal lawsuit is progressing, on December 14th US District Judge Frank C. Damrell ordered a federal magistrate to prepare a “Findings and Determinations” document, in response to Clark’s recent motion for a temporary restraining order against the claims adjustor employed by the Adventist hospital chain.

Sacramento

Power of Attorney Handbook

Sacramento, an illustrated history: 1839 to 1874, from Sutter's Fort to Capital City

Sacramento, Indomitable City

California Workers' Comp, How to Take Charge When You're Injured on the Job