State authorities on Tuesday arrested a 37-year-old New Canaan school custodian for illegally collecting Worker’s Compensation benefits after he was found to be working another job while out on injury leave, officials say.
Inspectors from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney charged the Bridgeport man with one count of fraudulent claim or receipt of benefits and one count of perjury, a Class D felony, according to the state of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
An arrest warrant affidavit cited by the state agency showed that the custodian received more than $21,000 in Workers’ Compensation benefits after he reported suffering an injury in April 2016 while working as a custodian at New Canaan High School.
The man “received the benefits because of restrictions placed on his ability to work because of the reported injury, but was later observed installing carpets, the warrant states,” according to the state agency. “He did not report any change in his ability to work or the income that he had received and when asked under oath stated that he had not performed any work, the warrant states.”
The case will be prosecuted by the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in Rocky Hill. The man was released after promising to appear May 8 in state Superior Court in Derby.
The Division of Criminal Justice is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters in the State of Connecticut.
An independent agency of the executive branch of state government, established under the state’s Constitution, it includes the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and the Offices of the State’s Attorneys for each of the thirteen Judicial Districts in the State of Connecticut.