The California Department of Insurance (DOI) has announced that Daniel Clampitt, a former Hollister firefighter, was charged with four felony counts including workers’ compensation insurance fraud, grand theft and perjury. He claimed to be too injured to work and collected over $94,000 in workers’ compensation benefits while continuing to work for another company. Mr. Clampitt claimed to have injured his knee while on duty as a firefighter for the city. He went on to collect wage loss benefits from June 2016 to June 2018 because he could not perform his duties as a firefighter.
However, surveillance video obtained in January 2017 shows Mr. Clampitt working for another employer while he was still collecting workers’ compensation benefits. An investigation by the DOI further showed that Mr. Clampitt had been collecting wages from his new employer for nine months while continuing to collect wage loss benefits. Needless to say, Mr. Clampitt did not report the wages he was collecting to the insurance company handling his claim, nor to the City of Hollister.
Mr. Clampitt claimed he was an independent contractor for the second employer prior to his injury and did not apply for employment after his injury. However, records from the second employer show that Mr. Clampitt started working for them four months before his injury. The arraignment took place on February 2, 2021, and the San Benito District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.