Mass. Man Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud

A Dorchester, Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to charges he received $36,446 in workers’ compensation benefits while continuing to work, Attorney General Tom Reilly announced.

Thompson Huynh, 41, pleaded guilty to one count each of workers’ comp insurance fraud and larceny over $250. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Margot Botsford sentenced him to serve 2 ½ years in the House of Correction, suspended for 10 years and ordered him to pay restitution of $36,446. Judge Botsford also ordered Huynh to perform 150 hours of community service.

Huynh worked as a fish cutter until April 15, 2000, when he allegedly suffered a wrist injury that prevented him from working. Huynh applied for and received temporary total disability for the alleged wrist injury from April 2000 to November 2001. In total, Huynh collected approximately $40,000 in workers’ comp benefits and medical payments from TIG Insurance Company, his insurer.

The Attorney General’s investigation found that while reporting to be injured and collecting benefits, Huynh opened Thompson’s Market, a grocery store in East Boston. During the time that Huynh claimed to be injured and collecting workers’ comp benefits, he told his doctors on five different occasions that he had not returned to work in any capacity since the alleged injury. The investigation found that Huynh was operating the market during this period of time.