Louisiana Employer Arrested for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud

The Louisiana Workforce Commission announced the arrest of a Pineville-based employer charged with workers’ compensation insurance fraud.

Richard H. Woodle of Pineville, owner of Streamline Framing Inc., was arrested and booked in East Baton Rouge Parish on felony charges of willful misrepresentations by an employer and unlawful practices.

Woodle is accused of making false statements to his workers’ compensation insurer over a three-year period in an effort to avoid paying workers’ compensation premiums for employees of his company. By making these false statements, it is estimated that Woodle avoided paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in premiums. If convicted, Woodle could face up to 10 years in prison.

In the past two years, the LWC fraud unit has referred more than 50 businesses and individuals for prosecution because they were suspected of defrauding the workers’ compensation system.

Source: Louisiana Workforce Commission