Police Veteran Claimed Disability, But Was Recorded Bodybuilding

When investigators met her at a Las Vegas-area Starbucks last year, they recalled Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Lt. Mandy Henderson walking slowly and gingerly, leaning on her husband’s arm to steady herself. In the middle of their conversation, she even reportedly stopped to lie down on a bench after complaining of deep pain. All of it was planned, detectives say, to secure millions of dollars in potential disability benefits. In the days before and after that coffee shop meeting, the 41-year-old was actively engaged in bodybuilding — all caught on camera. Back in the Bay Area on Friday, Henderson appeared to stand normally, and walked on her own power into a San Jose courtroom, where she was arraigned on charges of criminal and insurance code violations involving workers compensation fraud.