A Washington state insurance agent has been charged with felony theft for a workers’ compensation scam.
James C. Kooy, 53, has been accused of claiming he was too disabled to work while running his own insurance agency. Authorities say he fraudulently received more than $233,000 in benefits.
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Kooy started receiving benefits in 2008 for a knee injury he sustained while working as a heavy-equipment operator, according to workcompcentral.com. He also filed a 2010 claim for repetitive-motion injuries to his hands and shoulder for the same job.
The same year, authorities say Kooy opened By The Lake Insurance Agency, listing himself as half-owner, president and registered agent. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries stopped paying Kooy benefits after the agency opened, but Kooy’s lawyer said he was unable to work and was selling the business, so L&I resumed paying benefits.
In 2015, however, L&I said that it had discovered Kooy never sold the business and launched an investigation, according to workcompcentral.com. Investigators said that Kooy had generated $800,000 in revenue from the insurance agency between 2010 and 2015.
During that time, authorities say that Kooy neglected to tell his physician and vocational counselor that he was working, and falsely stated on L&I forms that he wasn’t working, workcompcentral.com reported.
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