PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney John MacKenzie, Insurance Fraud Unit
Jordan Roy Lester pled to felony insurance fraud and was sentenced to 270 days county jail, 2 years formal probation and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $232,829 to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and $127,791 to the State Compensation Insurance Fund. Lester will also lose his service and pension credit for the years the fraud was committed.
Lester was a CHP officer assigned to the Central Division. On July 11, 2021, Lester told his superiors he had been injured on the job. The injury was deemed not significant, and Lester was not placed off duty. During that time, Lester purchased property in the Quincy area. Lester traveled there on his days off and worked on his property. When Lester did not get the transfer to Quincy he requested, he began communicating with a former CHP officer about getting a medical retirement and offered to pay the retired officer for his assistance. A medical retirement would result in 85% of his salary for life, tax free.
In January 2022, Lester saw a doctor for the injury he claimed to have sustained almost six months earlier. He was placed on medical leave based on his statements to his physician. While on medical leave, Lester told his treating physician that standing, sitting and simple household chores caused significant pain. Lester was placed off duty due to his complaints of pain and his stated limited physical abilities. An investigation by CHP’s Internal Affairs revealed that Lester was far exceeding the limitations he claimed to both the CHP and his treating physicians. While collecting workers’ compensation benefits, Lester was working on his property, cutting down trees, stacking firewood, operating heavy machinery and engaging in heavy physical activity. An independent medical examiner saw Lester in February 2024 and opined that Lester was able to perform all work duties and that Lester exaggerated his complaints.
Workers’ compensation fraud of this type not only has an immediate financial impact on the employer, but it also causes increases in premiums which impact employers over the long-term. Fraudulent claims clog up the system, delaying medical care and financial assistance that legitimately injured workers deserve.
