Three Attorneys Indicted on Fraud Charges
A grand jury has returned indictments against three Texas workers’ compensation attorneys and two law firms in Lewisville and Houston. As reported by the Insurance Journal and by the Division of Workers’ Compensation, the indictments stem from Fraud Unit investigations initiated by the DWC. The cases were referred to DWC’s embedded prosecutor at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Two sets of indictments involve attorneys Leslie Casaubon and Roger Farahmand, as well as the Langford, Wise and Farahmand Law firm. The indictments allege that from July 1, 2017, to August 31, 2019, Ms. Casaubon and her staff submitted billing to the Division’s attorney fee processing system for work they did not do. Ms. Casaubon is currently under indictment in a similar matter pending in Travis County’s 460th Judicial District Court.
These defendants are charged with engaging in organized crime, a first-degree felony and securing the execution of a document by deception, a second-degree felony. If convicted each defendant could face up to life in prison and a $10,000 dollar fine.
The grand jury also returned indictments against Houston attorney Adam Henderson and the Adam Henderson Law Firm. This indictment alleges that from January 1, 2012, to January 31, 2019, Mr. Henderson submitted bills for work he did not do.
Mr. Henderson and the Henderson Law Firm are charged with securing the execution of a document by deception, a first-degree felony and tampering with a government record, a second-degree felony. If convicted each defendant could face up to life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Attorneys who represent injured employees in the Texas workers’ compensation system submit their fees through an automated system at DWC. Those fees are taken out of injured employees’ benefits. As a result of the false and fraudulent fee bills the defendants were paid more than $900,000.
“When attorneys overbill for services it takes income from injured workers and it prolongs the length of the claim,” says Debra Knight, DWC’s Deputy Commissioner of Compliance and Investigations. “We appreciate the partnership with the Travis County District Attorney’s office in pursuing this type of fraud.”
DWC adopted an attorney fee rule in January 2017 to allow DWC to monitor attorney billing more effectively.
An indictment is an allegation of criminal conduct. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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