Worker Accused of Fraud

Ventura County prosecutors have filed perjury and fraud charges against a Santa Paula construction worker who allegedly pocketed $15,000 in disability benefits while secretly holding down a second job.

Aureliano Cordero, 32, is charged with six counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud and one count of perjury. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday.

Cordero was arrested earlier this week after a joint investigation by the Ventura County district attorney’s office and the fraud division of the California Department of Insurance.

According to prosecutors, Cordero began working for Wild Wood Structures, a Santa Paula-based commercial roofing and framing company, in October 1999.

A month later, he reported a job-related injury and filed a workers’ compensation claim. Cordero reported that he had been struck in the arm by metal bands used to tie lumber together at the construction yard, authorities said. And he told doctors the injury prevented him from working because of chronic pain and weakness in his arm and shoulder.

As a result of the complaints, authorities said, Cordero was declared temporarily disabled and collected more than $15,000 in disability and medical payments over the course of 14 months.

But according to prosecutors, Cordero secretly worked for seven months washing cars at a Santa Paula auto dealership while collecting the disability checks. He later testified at a June 2001 deposition that he had not worked since the original injury, prosecutors said.

Cordero, also known as Marcos Cordero and Aureliano Cordero Rodriguez, could face five years in state prison and $50,000 in fines if convicted. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 11.