Washington state meter reader pleads guilty to workers’ compensation scam

A 56-year-old former Washington state meter reader who claimed she was so traumatized by a dog attack at work that she passed out at the sight of the dogs has pleaded guilty in a workers compensation fraud.

According to a press release from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry (L&I), an investigation by the department found that although she insisted her PTSD and dog phobia were so severe that she could not work, Linda Lashell Jordan had six dogs, including some she cared for or advertised for sale at her home in southwest Washington.

Jordan recently pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree theft of state workers’ compensation benefits, a felony. Wahkiakum County Superior Court Judge Heidi Heywood sentenced Jordan to 30 days in jail and allowed her to serve on electronic home monitoring.

“This is clearly a case where someone abused the workers’ compensation system,” said Celeste Monahan, deputy director of L&I’s fraud prevention and labor standards division. “It is not a victimless crime. She was taking money from the fund which helps workers who are really seriously injured at work and need support to get well and get back to work.”

The L&I investigation determined that Jordan received more than $162,000 in wage replacement payments from September 2016 to October 2019, claiming she was unable to work.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case based on the L&I investigation. L&I is seeking reimbursement from Jordan.

While working as a meter reader for the Pacific County Public Utilities District in 2007, a dog bit Jordan’s right arm, causing serious injuries. According to the news release, over the next several years, she filed injury claims with L&I and claimed she couldn’t risk working or even driving a vehicle because she might encounter a dog.

Jordan’s medical providers have confirmed that he is unable to work due to workplace injuries. In 2014, for example, her doctor confirmed that she fainted whenever she saw dogs and was unable to return to work, according to charging documents.

In 2018, when a claims manager suspected something was amiss, an undercover L&I investigator visited Jordan at her home and discovered she had three French bulldogs and three boxers, which, according to the press release, “swarmed in around her and she did” don’t pass out or you look scared.” Jordan told the investigator that she and her husband had rescued and fostered pugs for 30 years and warned him that one of the dogs might bite, the charging documents said.

The investigation also found that Jordan advertised the dog for sale on Facebook using her maiden name and her husband’s name. And although her health care provider advised her not to drive in case she saw a dog and passed out, investigators saw Jordan driving nine times in 2018 and 2019.

When shown the evidence, a psychiatrist who once treated Jordan changed Jordan’s previous diagnosis from post-traumatic stress disorder and dog phobia to feigning – faking an illness or injury to avoid work – they said the charging documents. The psychiatrist found that Jordan could return to work as a meter reader as early as September 2016.

Photo: A Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) investigative photo shows Linda Lashell Jordan with two of her pugs — who were among a half-dozen dogs she raised or sold at home in 2018 .(Courtesy of L&I)

TOPICS
Workers Compensation Washington