A Toledo woman who managed a gambling storefront that was raided by state agents in 2014 pleaded guilty March 21 to workers’ compensation fraud for working there while collecting injured worker benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).
Jennifer E. Garner, 57, pleaded guilty to the first-degree misdemeanor in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. A judge ordered Garner to pay BWC $7,645 in restitution and sentenced her to five years of community control and a suspended jail term of four months. Garner paid $1,000 prior to her guilty plea.
“Trying to cheat BWC is never a safe bet,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Sarah Morrison. “Our Special Investigations Department is dedicated to rooting out fraud and bringing criminals to justice.”
Acting on a tip, BWC investigators found Garner managing and working at the Surf’s Up Cyberlounge in Oregon, Ohio, through most of 2014 while she collected benefits from BWC for a job injury that purportedly left her permanently and totally disabled.
On Dec. 18, 2014, agents with the Attorney General’s Office, Ohio Casino Control Commission and Oregon Police Department executed a search warrant at Surf’s Up and five other similar storefronts in northwest Ohio on suspicion of operating as illegal casinos. Gaming machines were removed from each of the six locations, but no arrests were made. Prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue the case against Surf’s Up.
To report suspected workers’ compensation fraud, call 1-800-644-6292 or visit bwc.ohio.gov.
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