ARLINGTON, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
An Arlington resident is facing a charge of first-degree theft after the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) conducted a workers’ compensation fraud investigation.
Jon Paul Traff, 49, allegedly received more than $80,000 in workers’ compensation benefits after claiming he was too injured to work.
“After getting hurt at one job, and getting time-loss benefits for being too injured to work, Mr. Traff got hurt again at a second job, and tried to claim benefits for that injury, too,” Randy Littlefield, the deputy assistant director of L&I’s Customer Service, Compliance, and Public Safety Division, stated. “This type of fraud hurts the employer, and hurts people with legitimate injuries who need help.”
Traff was a district sales manager for Mission Foods in 2017 when he filed a claim with L&I for an on-the-job injury involving his back, neck, and shoulders. The company approved his request to receive workers’ compensation payments and worker retraining benefits.
Seven years later, Traff filed a second on-the-job injury claim with L&I, this time as an area sales director with Flowers Baking Co. According to the injury report, he worked at Flowers for nearly two years before the injury occurred.
But Traff signed 78 worker-status forms telling L&I he was still too injured from the injury he suffered at Mission Foods to work while allegedly collecting another salary, and a subsequent second injury claim, with Flowers Baking Co. His salary with Flowers Baking Co. was more than $68,000.
“Even if someone is working in Washington for an out-of-state company, they still need to follow the rule,” Littlefield said. “We’re watching to make sure they do.”
Both companies have locations in Everett, with Mission Foods headquartered in Texas and Flowers Baking headquartered in Oregon.
Traff is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in April in Snohomish County Superior Court.
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