Agency secures 6 fraud-related convictions in December
A northeast Ohio occupational therapist was convicted last month for felony workers’ compensation fraud for billing the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) for treatment services she did not provide to patients.
Susanna Kagalitskaya Freedman, of Euclid, pleaded guilty Dec. 17 in a Cuyahoga County court to a fifth-degree felony count of workers’ compensation fraud. The judge sentenced her to five years of probation and a $2,500 fine. Additionally, Freedman was permanently decertified to treat BWC patients for claim-related injuries.
“As an agency, we expect providers to give superior care and service to injured workers,” said BWC Administrator/CEO Stephanie McCloud. “This particular provider obviously did not meet the standard of care injured workers deserve and she cheated our system.”
Numerous red flags in Freedman’s billing practices and treatment notes sent to BWC prompted BWC’s Special Investigations Department (SID) to initiate an investigation starting in October 2017. Investigators discovered Freedman was falsifying documents, indicating services had been rendered when they had not. BWC would then pay for the substandard care based on the falsified information Freedman provided.
SID secured five other fraud-related convictions in December, bringing calendar year 2019’s total to 94.
Jeffrey Jakob of Toledo
Jakob pleaded guilty Dec. 31 in Toledo Municipal Court to one count of failure to comply, a second-degree misdemeanor, after BWC found he was operating his business, J.A. Jakob Marine Contracting, with lapsed coverage since March 2015. BWC agents made multiple attempts to assist Jakob in getting his coverage reinstated, but he failed to do so. The judge ordered him to one year of probation and to comply with a reinstatement payment plan with the Ohio Attorney General’s office. He must also remain current on installment payments to BWC.
Harold Brown of Bellefontaine
Brown pleaded guilty Dec. 23 to three second-degree misdemeanor charges of failure to comply for running his business, Brown’s Lawn & Tree Service, without workers’ compensation coverage. BWC investigators discovered his BWC policy had been lapsed since September 2010. Brown received 30 days in jail (suspended), a $250 fine, and was ordered to make regular payments to BWC and the Attorney General until a reinstatement payment plan was paid in full. The current amount due on Brown’s BWC policy is approximately $133,000.
Marie Olinger of Delta
On Dec. 17, a Franklin County judged ordered Olinger to three years of community control for working while receiving more than $2,800 in disability benefits from BWC. The investigation found Olinger had returned to work at the Dental Center of Northwest Ohio between January and March 2017 while receiving temporary total disability benefits.
Rodney Filibeck of Mansfield
Filibeck pleaded guilty Dec. 16 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to one count of workers’ compensation fraud, a first-degree misdemeanor. After receiving an anonymous tip, BWC investigators determined Filibeck was working construction jobs while receiving BWC disability benefits between September 2016 and June 2017. The judge handed down a 60-day jail sentence, suspended for 12 months of community control and ordered him to pay $2,519 in restitution to BWC.
Deangelo Speed of Shaker Heights
Speed pleaded guilty Dec. 2 in a Franklin County courtroom to a fifth-degree felony count of workers’ compensation fraud. BWC agents found Speed working as a truck driver while collecting BWC benefits from Oct. 20, 2015, through Jan. 27, 2017. The judge ordered Speed to pay BWC $7,599 in restitution and court costs by March 2, 2020. The judge also sentenced Speed to a six-month jail sentence, suspended for six months of probation.
To report suspected workers’ compensation fraud, call 1-800-644-6292 or visit bwc.ohio.gov.
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