Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Compensation Fraud

A North Baltimore, Ohio, man has pleaded guilty to one count of workers’ compensation fraud. An investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Special Investigations Division (SID) found that Harold Hayne was remodeling homes and opening a hardware store in violation of rules related to working while receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

The SID began investigating Hanes after a Toledo area television station featured him in an October, 2009, story about the opening of Haynes Hardware.

“While Mr. Haynes’ entrepreneurship is admirable, scamming the system that helps legitimately injured workers and then promoting it on TV isn’t,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Stephen Buehrer. “Employers face enough economic pressures without having to pay more premium to cover the costs of benefits for those who are capable of working and clearly cheating the system.”

Following the newscast, BWC received a tip about Haynes, who, at the time, was receiving Temporary Total Disability benefits for a workplace injury.

Through a review of records and several interviews, agents discovered customers hired Haynes to perform work that included, remodeling of bathrooms, kitchens and a patio deck; rewiring of electrical; a garage addition; and finishing work on residential homes.

Investigators concluded that Haynes was self-employed, remodeling homes, and working out of his North Baltimore store at the same time he was receiving benefits from March 15, 2008, to Nov. 24, 2008, and from Nov. 2, 2009, to January 2010.

Haynes entered his guilty plea March 24 in a Franklin County courtroom where he was sentenced to two years community control and ordered to pay restitution of $11,534.71, as well as $2,000 in investigative costs. If Haynes violates the terms of his community control, he will serve 12 months incarceration.

Source: Ohio BWC