Southern California Cop Who Faked Injury to Claim $600K in Compensation Caught Partying, Dancing at Music Festival
A Southern California police officer was caught partying at the Stagecoach Music Festival while collecting more than $600,000 in workers' compensation for a head injury that prosecutors allege was faked.
As reported by the Associated Press, Westminster police officer Nicole Brown, 39, was charged Monday with 15 felonies of workers' compensation and insurance fraud, the Orange County District Attorney's office said. She faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted.
Brown Suffered Minor Injury While Trying to Arrest a Suspect, Became Eligible to Receive Disabled Workers' Compensation
Brown was duty on March 21, 2022, when she received a "minor abrasion" to her forehead while trying to arrest an uncooperative suspect, according to prosecutors. She told her watch commander that she had a headache and was feeling dizzy.
Though an emergency room doctor who examined her that day released her back to work without restrictions, she called out sick for several days and was diagnosed with a severe concussion about a week after the initial injury. She was placed on Total Temporary Disability, which made her eligible to receive her full salary for up to a year and two-thirds of her salary after that.
While Brown Claimed She was Sick, She was at a Soccer Conference, She Claimed Disability Benefits While Participating in Races, Skiing, Playing Golf
Later, investigators would find out that during the three days she called out sick after her injury, Brown went to several soccer conferences in San Diego. In the following year while collecting disability, she also ran in two 5K races, went snowboarding or skiing in Big Bear and Mammoth, attended baseball games, played golf, went to Disneyland and took online courses with a local university, prosecutors allege.
"Mrs. Brown suffered a significant head injury when she was on duty," her attorney Brian Gurwitz said, "and she intends to vigorously fight these allegations." According to prosecutors, some of Brown's ongoing symptoms that she reported during this time were: headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and noise, and inability to look at a screen.
Brown Came Under Investigation After She was Spotted 'Dancing and Drinking' at Music Festival
The district attorney's office began their investigation into potential fraud after she was seen by several people "dancing and drinking" in April 2023 at the Stagecoach Music Festival, an annual country music festival held in the Coachella Valley with "loud music and bright lights everywhere." This was reported to the Westminster Police Department.
Three days after the festival, Brown and her stepfather attended a Zoom meeting where she sat in a dark room and said she was unable to look at the screen. Her stepfather said she still could not do paperwork or take phone calls. After the meeting, she was admitted to an inpatient center for traumatic brain injury.
Prosecutors say Brown collected more than $600,000 from the city of Westminster, which includes her full salary and medical expenses.
Her stepfather Peter Schuman, 57, of Buena Park, has also been charged with two felonies related to insurance fraud and helping commit a crime. He is a licensed attorney in California and faces discipline from the state bar, prosecutors said. Schuman does not have an attorney listed and could not be reached for comment.
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Nicole Brown, who worked for the Westminster Police Department, was charged with 15 felonies related to workers' compensation insurance fraud. PHOTO: WESTMINSTER PDCA/X An officer said she was disabled but prosecutors said she ran, skied and danced CALIFORNIA - Nicole Brown, a police officer in Orange County, California, told her bosses in 2022 that she could no longer perform her duties after she sustained a head injury on the job. But according to prosecutors, whatever had happened to her didn't prevent her from running in road races, skiing or snowboarding, and dancing at a music festival while she illegally collected more than US$600,000 (S$775,000) in workers' compensation. This week, Brown, 39, who worked for the Westminster Police Department, was charged with 15 felonies related to workers' compensation insurance fraud, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. 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It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer, and he did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment. Brown was sworn in as a police officer in early 2019. About three years later, in March 2022, she suffered a 'minor abrasion to her forehead while attempting to arrest and handcuff an uncooperative suspect,' prosecutors said. She complained to her commander that she had a headache and was feeling dizzy, but an emergency room doctor who examined her that day released her and said that she could return to work without restrictions, prosecutors said. After she called out sick for several days, they added, Brown was given a diagnosis of severe concussion syndrome and placed on temporary disability leave. An investigation by the district attorney's office found that three days after the injury, in March 2022, when Brown – who volunteered as a youth soccer coach – had called out sick, she went to an American Youth Soccer Organisation conference in San Diego. 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Southern California Cop Who Faked Injury to Claim $600K in Compensation Caught Partying, Dancing at Music Festival
A Southern California police officer was caught partying at the Stagecoach Music Festival while collecting more than $600,000 in workers' compensation for a head injury that prosecutors allege was faked. As reported by the Associated Press, Westminster police officer Nicole Brown, 39, was charged Monday with 15 felonies of workers' compensation and insurance fraud, the Orange County District Attorney's office said. She faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted. Brown Suffered Minor Injury While Trying to Arrest a Suspect, Became Eligible to Receive Disabled Workers' Compensation Brown was duty on March 21, 2022, when she received a "minor abrasion" to her forehead while trying to arrest an uncooperative suspect, according to prosecutors. She told her watch commander that she had a headache and was feeling dizzy. Though an emergency room doctor who examined her that day released her back to work without restrictions, she called out sick for several days and was diagnosed with a severe concussion about a week after the initial injury. She was placed on Total Temporary Disability, which made her eligible to receive her full salary for up to a year and two-thirds of her salary after that. While Brown Claimed She was Sick, She was at a Soccer Conference, She Claimed Disability Benefits While Participating in Races, Skiing, Playing Golf Later, investigators would find out that during the three days she called out sick after her injury, Brown went to several soccer conferences in San Diego. In the following year while collecting disability, she also ran in two 5K races, went snowboarding or skiing in Big Bear and Mammoth, attended baseball games, played golf, went to Disneyland and took online courses with a local university, prosecutors allege. "Mrs. Brown suffered a significant head injury when she was on duty," her attorney Brian Gurwitz said, "and she intends to vigorously fight these allegations." According to prosecutors, some of Brown's ongoing symptoms that she reported during this time were: headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and noise, and inability to look at a screen. Brown Came Under Investigation After She was Spotted 'Dancing and Drinking' at Music Festival The district attorney's office began their investigation into potential fraud after she was seen by several people "dancing and drinking" in April 2023 at the Stagecoach Music Festival, an annual country music festival held in the Coachella Valley with "loud music and bright lights everywhere." This was reported to the Westminster Police Department. Three days after the festival, Brown and her stepfather attended a Zoom meeting where she sat in a dark room and said she was unable to look at the screen. Her stepfather said she still could not do paperwork or take phone calls. After the meeting, she was admitted to an inpatient center for traumatic brain injury. Prosecutors say Brown collected more than $600,000 from the city of Westminster, which includes her full salary and medical expenses. Her stepfather Peter Schuman, 57, of Buena Park, has also been charged with two felonies related to insurance fraud and helping commit a crime. He is a licensed attorney in California and faces discipline from the state bar, prosecutors said. Schuman does not have an attorney listed and could not be reached for comment.
