Former California Highway Patrolman Convicted of Workers’ Comp Fraud

A former California Highway Patrol officer has been convicted in a case involving workers’ compensation insurance fraud.

A Sacramento County jury in December convicted Tony Yao on felony charges of failure to disclose a prior motor vehicle accident and resulting injury, making false statements and filing a false claim.

The Sacramento Bee reported Yao was a CHP officer working in the Commissioner’s Support Unit when he alleged he had suffered a work injury to his back. Evidence showed that Yao didn’t disclose a pre-existing back injury.

Yao claimed he was unable to work because he could not walk without a cane. But video surveillance showed him walking normally without a cane, bending and twisting with ease.

Yao is to be sentenced Jan. 28 in Sacramento.