Florida Woman Caught Faking Injury in Attempt to Collect Workers’ Comp Payments

The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS) announced the arrest of a Fort Lauderdale woman after she attempted to fraudulently collect workers’ compensation payments following an alleged on-the-job injury.

Sheyla Veronica White claimed that a sprinkler head fell from the ceiling, bounced off her desk, and struck her in the head. Her employer, Cinque Terre Energy Partners, LLC promptly filed a compensation claim related to the alleged injury. Video surveillance footage later proved a different series of events surrounding the alleged injury.

Cinque Terre’s insurance company, AmTrust North America, grew suspicious of White’s claim and referred the incident to the DIFS for review and possible investigation. As part of their subsequent investigation, DIFS detectives requested video footage from Cinque Terre’s security cameras, which confirmed AmTrust’s suspicions that the claim was fraudulent.

The video clearly shows a piece of a sprinkler head falling onto White’s desk, but it does not bounce and strike her in the head as she alleged. Instead, the video shows White picking up the broken item, looking around to ensure she was alone in the room, and then striking herself in the head with the item. A video of the incident is available through the DIFS website.

White was arrested and transported to the Broward County Jail. She faces two counts of workers’ compensation fraud, and up to five years in prison if convicted. White was previously arrested in 2010 for stealing students’ personal identification information while working as a teacher at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek.

White was using the named Sheyla Diaz at that time, and she was sentenced to six months house arrest for that offense. This case will be prosecuted by the Office of Assistant State Attorney Sean Wydner, 17th Judicial Circuit.