West Virginia Man Charged After Illegally Using Over $20K in Deceased Relative’s Workers’ Comp Payments

A Salt Rock, West Virginia man has been charged with multiple felonies after investigators uncovered that he spent over $20,000 in workers’ compensation benefits sent to his deceased relative’s account. The deceased, a former Boilermakers Union worker, had been receiving monthly disability payments stemming from a workplace injury in 1987. Despite his death in August 2021, benefits continued for nearly a year due to an administrative oversight.

The accused had been added to the relative’s bank account over a year prior to the death, and continued accessing the funds until the error was discovered. Sedgwick, the state’s workers’ compensation administrator, had unknowingly issued ten additional payments totaling $20,531.30 after the death. During a recorded interview with a special agent, the man admitted to using the funds for personal expenses, including a tractor payment.

The charges include fraudulent insurance acts, obtaining money by false pretenses, and engaging in fraudulent schemes. Authorities are using the case as a reminder to estate executors and family members to report any posthumous benefits immediately to avoid legal consequences and prevent fraud against workers’ compensation systems.