A former Costa Mesa police officer was sentenced to six months in jail for filing a phony Workers’ Compensation claim with the city.
Ryan Patrick Natividad, 32, of Corona, had been convicted Feb. 16 of misdemeanor counts of making a false insurance claim and making a fraudulent statement to obtain compensation. Natividad faced up to six years in jail.
It’s likely Natividad will be placed on home confinement, his attorney, Cori Ferrentino, said. Orange County Superior Court Judge Margaret Anderson supported that recommendation, she said.
Anderson rejected a motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel from Ferrentino, who took over the case after Natividad’s conviction.
A video played for jurors appeared to contradict Natividad’s testimony about how he was injured on the job, Deputy District Attorney Noor Hasan said.
Natividad reported a work-related injury on Sept. 23, 2014, claiming that he had slammed his fist against a wall earlier that day while trying to prevent a suspect from stumbling into the wall as he was being taken from a patrol car to jail, according to Hasan.
An internal investigation from the city produced evidence that contradicted his account of how and when the injury happened, Hasan said.
Ferrentino argued there was “no evidence he intended to commit insurance fraud.”
Natividad is set to begin serving his sentence in about two months, his attorney said. He plans to file an appeal, she added.
—City News Service