Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme Costs Texas Business $149K

Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that Granbury Contracting & Utilities, Inc., of Granbury, Texas, pled guilty to workers’ compensation fraud-related charges.

A Travis County district court ordered the company to pay $149,000 in restitution to Texas Mutual.

Granbury Contracting & Utilities, Inc., owned by Wayne Wienecke, obtained workers’ compensation coverage through Texas Mutual from November 2003 to April 2008. During that time, the company misrepresented numbers of employees and payroll to Texas Mutual.

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.

Source: Texas Mutual Insurance Company