Business Insurance

April 15, 2013

Former New York Giants linebacker Marcus Buckley and a Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. workers compensation adjuster allegedly schemed to defraud the third-party administrator out of more than $1.5 million, an indictment states.

Mr. Buckley played with the Giants from 1993 to 2000, then played for the Atlanta Falcons for one season. During the time he played with the Giants, the team purchased workers comp insurance from Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Group, according to the grand jury indictment filed April 10.

PMA contracted with Gallagher Bassett for third-party administration services, states the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.

The indictment charges Mr. Buckley and Kimberly Jones with wire fraud and Mr. Jones with money laundering.

It states that Mr. Buckley filed a workers comp claim in 2006 for cumulative stress injuries sustained in California.

But he allegedly requested reimbursements for fictitious medical expenses he didn't incur while a senior claims representative for Gallagher Bassett allegedly requested checks for Mr. Buckley even though she knew evidence was lacking that the medical services had been provided.

The adjuster also schemed to thwart the detection of fraud, the indictment alleges.

Workers compenstaion fraud cases are one of many instances where an employer's experience is wrongly reflected and thereby causes the employer to end up paying overcharges on their workers compensation insurance. When we review your workers comp policies, we are always mindful to look for fraudulent claims and have the insurance company correct them so your experience modification is reflected correctly. This is just one of the ways that workers compensation premium recovery offers to get you back refunds on your old policies and make sure that you have the best underwriting profile upon renewal.