A 23-year-old San Jacinto man who allegedly faked an injury to collect tens of thousands of dollars in workers’ compensation insurance funds pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony charges.
Angel Luis Maces was arrested in February following a months-long investigation by the California Department of Insurance and charged with two counts of insurance fraud.
Maces, who is free on his own recognizance, was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge David Gunn, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 8 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to the DOI, in September 2018, the defendant was employed by a Temecula landscaping company that sent him to Duarte to perform turf upkeep, but while on the job, he told his supervisors that he’d slipped and injured his knee.
Maces filed a workers’ comp claim through his employer’s insurance company after several examinations, at which point he began collecting insurance money, investigators said.
The insurer suspected in April 2020 that Maces was not hobbled, as he had told his physician and employer, and the case was referred to the DOI for scrutiny, according to the agency.
“Surveillance during the investigation showed Maces conducting activities that contradicted the physical limitations he described,” according to the DOI. “On multiple occasions, Maces was seen not using a cane or crutches, even though he claimed he had to use them 100% of the time because of the injury.”
Investigators allege $42,888 in unwarranted benefits were paid out to the defendant, who has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.