Odessa Man Faces WC Fraud Charges

An Odessa, Texas, man was indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges of workers’ compensation fraud, according to Texas Mutual Insurance Company.

Texas Mutual alleges that William Scott Anderson was charged with Securing Execution of Document by Deception, a state jail felony, because he continued to collect temporary income benefits (TIBs) for a work-related injury while secretly returning to work.

Texas law requires injured workers to notify their insurance carriers of any change in their work status.

Anderson suffered an on-the-job injury while working as a derrick man for Mattlock Drilling LTD of Midland. He claimed he was unable to return to work because of the injury, and Texas Mutual began paying TIBs.

While he was still receiving TIBs from Texas Mutual, Anderson allegedly took a job with Rod Ric Drilling of Odessa/Midland. Later, he allegedly applied for another job with a different company. When the company called Mattlock Drilling to check Anderson’s references, Mattlock Drilling alerted the insurer.

Investigators said that when Anderson called to check the status of one of his TIBs checks his adjustor asked him if he was working. He allegedly said he was not, but the investigator obtained written confirmation from Rod Ric Drilling to the contrary.