A Kalama man has been charged with first-degree theft for allegedly misrepresenting the severity of injuries in order to collect nearly $300,000 in workers’ compensation benefits between 2016 and 2020.
The defendant, 52-year-old James Joseph Thomasson, was scheduled to be arraigned in Thurston County Superior Court Tuesday.
Thomasson was initially injured in 2006 when he was struck in the leg by a tree while working as a logger, according to a press release from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). A year later, Thomasson hurt his back while using a wedge to fell a tree in Shelton. His medical provider told L&I that Thomasson could not work due to the workplace injuries and as a result Thomasson was eligible to receive payments for part of his lost wages. Thomasson regularly submitted official forms stating he was unable to work because of the injuries, according to court documents.
In 2019, L&I received an anonymous tip that claimed Thomasson was working as a beekeeper and was intentionally misrepresenting his injuries to his medical provider.
“When we receive tips from the public, we will investigate,” said Chris Bowe, assistant director of L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards Division, in a written statement.
“We greatly appreciate the public’s assistance in identifying people who are receiving money they’re not entitled to.”
L&I launched an investigation into Thomasson in 2019. Investigators went undercover and “watched and recorded Thomasson multiple times in 2019, and obtained security camera and social media footage” that reportedly showed Thomasson dancing, walking normally and performing various physical activities — but limping near a medical clinic and at times when he thought he was being watched, according to an L&I press release.
“Workers who fake or exaggerate the extent of their injury and receive money are cheating,” Bowe said.
In January 2020, investigators showed the surveillance videos to Thomasson’s medical provider.
“After evaluating the videos, the provider determined Thomasson was intentionally misrepresenting his physical capabilities and had actually been able to work back in March 2016,” according to L&I.
The Washington State Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting the case, which covers March 2016 to January 2020. In that timeframe, Thomasson collected more than $249,000 in wage replacement payments and nearly $50,000 in vocational and medical benefits, according to L&I.
