The California Department of Insurance (DOI) has announced that Angel Maces, a San Jacinto landscaper, has been arraigned for felony insurance fraud for falsifying symptoms following a work-related injury. Mr. Maces received over $42,000 in workers’ compensation benefits that he did not deserve.
In September 2018, Mr. Maces was working for a Temecula landscaping company and slipped on a piece of turf and struck his knee. That same day he filed a workers’ compensation claim and immediately began to receive doctor examinations and treatments.
The California Department of Insurance began an investigation in April of 2020 due to the employer’s insurance company suspecting fraud. The investigation uncovered that Mr. Maces’ injuries were not as they appeared, and he had severely misrepresented them, including physical limitations, in order to collect $42,888 of fraudulent workers’ compensation benefits. During surveillance, Mr. Maces was seen without his crutches or cane, which he said he needed at all times. The arraignment took place on February 26, 2021, and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.