Countywide : Woman Accused of Worker Comp Fraud

The Orange County district attorney’s office filed fraud and theft charges this week against a woman who allegedly was working as a ski patrol member in San Bernardino County while receiving $10,000 in workers’ compensation for a back injury.

Gayle Renee Battisti, 28, was arrested Tuesday and is being held on felony charges for allegedly filing a false claim and grand theft. Her bail was set at $10,000, the same amount she collected over a nine-month period from CNA Insurance Co. of Brea, said Andrea L. Burke, deputy district attorney.

Last year, Battisti was employed by Interim Healthcare of Orange when she claimed to have injured her back while lifting a patient, Burke said. She then told her employer that she could not work because of her condition and began medical treatment.

But an investigation by CNA Insurance and the district attorney’s office found that while collecting compensation, Battisti allegedly was employed by Bear Mountain and then Snow Summit ski resorts as a ski patrol member and had passed physical examinations to obtain both jobs.

“Employment as a ski patroller required Battisti to perform strenuous daily tasks along with rescue activities,” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.

The insurance company investigator said he first became suspicious of Battisti’s claim after he discovered that she had filed at least three or four previous workers’ compensation claims, each alleging the same back injury. To file each claim, she used a different doctor and a different attorney.