Correctional officer arrested for fraud and theft

October 2, 2014

Santa Barbara County Sheriff deputies arrested a correctional officer for insurance fraud and grand theft for allegedly collecting more than $60,000 in workers’ compensation benefits he was not entitled to receive.

In November 2012, James Levice Davis Junious, 33, injured his elbow while performing his duties as a juvenile institutional officer. Five days later, Junious was granted temporary disability, which he continued to collect until his arrest.

In addition to his employment as an institutional officer, Junious owns and operates a landscaping business, College Students Lawn Service. Junious told his doctor and claims adjuster that he was not working or collecting any source of income from his business, but evidence showed that Junious was back to landscaping in April 2013 while collecting workers’ comp benefits.

Department investigators found evidence that showed Junious lifting 60 pounds of stones, building a wall, laying sod, lifting and working with concrete blocks and numerous other tasks Junious claimed he could not perform. When the evidence was shown to the physician treating Junious for his injury, the physician stated that had Junious been honest about his recovery he would have returned him to light duty after he had surgery.

The total loss in this case amounted to more than $71,000 for collection of benefits and investigation costs.
“Workers’ compensation fraud is a multi-billion dollar drain on our economy,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “In California, it costs insurers hundreds of millions of dollars every year in losses, which are then passed along to employers through higher premiums and ultimately to consumers through higher costs for goods and services.”