Meter Reader Guilty of $162K Comp Scam After Faking PTSD

Photo byBaptist StandaertonUnsplash

A meter reader who claimed to faint at the sight of dogs pled guilty to workers’ compensation fraud, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries reports.

Linda Lashell Jordan of Grays Harbor, 56, had six dogs, including several she was fostering or putting up for sale, in her home when she was collecting benefits for PTSD from a workplace dog attack, according to an L&I investigation.

Wahkiakum County Superior Court Judge Heidi Heywood sentenced Jordan to 30 days of jail for second-degree attempted theft, a gross misdemeanor, L&I reports further. However, Heywood let Jordan serve it under electronic home monitoring, according to the department.

L&I’s investigators found Jordan collected more than $162,000 in benefits from September 2016 to October 2019.

“This is clearly a case of someone abusing the workers’ comp system,” said Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division. “It’s not a victimless crime. She was taking money from the fund that helps workers who really are seriously injured on the job and need support to heal and get back to work.”

Jordan worked as a meter reader for the Pacific County Public Utility District when she was bitten on her right arm by a dog in 2007, according to L&I.

In 2014, L&I reports, her doctor confirmed she fainted whenever she saw dogs and could not return to her job.

L&I Investigations photo shows Linda Lashell Jordan with two of her boxers – which were among a half-dozen dogs she was fostering or sellingPhoto byWashington Department of Labor & Industries

L&I began investigating Jordan in 2018 when her case aroused suspicion with a case manage, according to the department. Jordan was advertising dogs for sale on Facebook using her maiden name and her husband’s name, posing with them in the process.

The department reports that an undercover L&I investigator visited Jordan at her home, then in Cathlamet, and found she had three French bulldogs and three boxers. Jordan said she and her husband had been rescuing and fostering boxers for 30 years, the L&I investigator reported.

L&I investigators report further that Jordan was given the okay to return to work as a meter reader as early as September 2016 by her doctor.

The department will pursue Jordan further for full repayment of the benefits, L&I reports.