Houston Woman Convicted in $5M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County district court sentenced Ellynn A. Ogilvie of Houston to five years of probation, 450 community service hours and a $2,000 fine for workers’ compensation fraud-related charges.

Ogilvie, who owned United Crane Inc. and multiple related companies, was indicted in March 2009 for her role in concealing payroll and employees from Texas Mutual Insurance Company from Aug. 16, 2001 to Oct. 11, 2004.

Because workers’ compensation insurance premium is based, in part, on payroll, this type of scheme results in an employer being charged a lower premium than it actually owes. By hiding payroll, an employer can gain an unfair advantage over competitors.

Texas Mutual previously reported that Gary C. Quintinsky, who was also a participant in the scheme, was sentenced in March and received a two-year prison term for his role.

In 2007, a Travis County jury awarded Texas Mutual more than $5 million in actual damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages in a civil judgment against Quintinsky. The case was the largest premium fraud case in Texas Mutual’s history.

Source: Texas Mutual Insurance Company