Mom and pop shop called in comp fraud

A couple who worked in their son’s auto repair shop in Vancouver, Washington, claimed to have been injured in the shop and were receiving work injury benefits for their alleged injuries while repeatedly filing late payments for comp premiums, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries reported Monday.

After an investigation into the family who run My Dad’s Automotive & Exhaust, which included anonymous tips and monitoring, the department accused Jeffrey Bart Pierson of stealing more than $ 116,000 in allowances and his wife, Karen S. Pierson, more than $ 116,000 Stealing $ 64,000 in perks.

L&I investigators said they recorded more than 100 video clips of the defendants working in the store, while the couple regularly reported on official forms that they were not working due to injuries sustained at work.

Meanwhile, investigators also found that My Dad’s Automotive had been late paying its workers insurance premiums for several years. “The L&I Revenue Officer charged with collecting the overdue bonuses found that while corresponding with Karen Pierson about the deal, he claimed to another part of L&I that she was too injured to work,” the department said.