Washington Workers’ Comp Scam Exposed by Gym Trips

A Washington man is being charged in a felony in a $28,000 workers’ compensation scam after a trip the gym seemingly exposed him.

Omid Mohammadi Dashti, 41, of Renton, was charged with one count of first-degree theft. He’s accused of stealing more than $28,000 in workers’ comp payments from March through November 2023 from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Dashti reportedly failed to appear twice at his arraignment to enter a plea in King County Superior Court, prompting a warrant for his arrest.

Dashti regularly told L&I he couldn’t work due to an on-the-job back injury. That was among the key requirements allowing him to receive payments to replace his lost wages, according to charging papers.

L&I investigators reportedly recorded Dashti performing weight-training exercises, sometimes lifting up to 155 pounds as in a November 2023 video taken at a fitness center.

Dashti was a delivery driver for a bottling plant when he reportedly injured his lower back lifting and moving beverages in December 2022. After filing an L&I claim and his medical provider determining his injury prevented him from returning to his job, Dashti began receiving payments in January 2023 to replace part of his wages.

L&I’s investigation reportedly found that less than a month after his injury, Dashti began regularly visiting the fitness center he belonged to. Undercover investigators filmed Dashti on two days in late 2023 performing a strenuous weight-training routine using weight machines and loading heavy plates onto a weight bar.

In an interview with investigators in December 2023, Dashti watched the surveillance video. He denied that his exercises violated his medical restrictions or harmed his body, according to charging papers.

After Dashti’s attending medical provider watched the footage, she determined that Dashti could have returned to work much sooner, according to L&I.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case.