Workers’ Comp Fund Wins Judgment

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury has awarded a $3.2-million judgment, one of the largest of its kind in the state, against a Santa Monica firm accused of defrauding its workers’ compensation insurer. The jury found that the Santa Monica firm--WPS Inc., formerly known as Western Personnel Services Inc.--fraudulently concealed the job injury histories of temporary workers it provided to clients to lower the firm’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums. The award, which includes $3 million in punitive damages and $229,000 in actual damages, was won by California’s biggest workers’ compensation insurer, State Compensation Insurance Fund. Andrew Telanoff, who owns WPS with his father, Ronald Telanoff, denied the fraud charges and said the firm will appeal the ruling.