Former Washington Insurance Agent Jailed in $233K Workers’ Comp Scam

A Lake Stevens, Wash. man who ran an insurance agency while claiming he was too disabled to work must serve jail time.

The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries says 53-year-old James Kooy was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail for wrongfully receiving over $233,000 in workers’ compensation payments from the agency.

Kooy pleaded guilty to the felony charge in Snohomish County Superior Court in September. Judge Bruce Weiss also ordered Kooy to repay the state for an amount to be determined at a March hearing.

An agency investigation determined Kooy owned and operated By the Lake Insurance Inc. at the same time he claimed to be too injured to work after a knee injury and was receiving workers’ comp benefits.

The investigation found over five years his business generated more than $800,000 in revenue.