California Highway Patrol arrests former CHP officer accused of workers’ compensation fraud
California Highway Patrol investigators on Tuesday arrested a former CHP officer accused of committing workers’ compensation fraud two years ago when he worked for the state law enforcement agency.
Jordan Lester, 44, was arrested without incident in Quincy and booked at the Plumas County Jail, the CHP announced in a news release. Lester worked for 16 years for the agency and was assigned to the CHP’s Quincy office.
The CHP said Lester was arrested on suspicion of making a false statement to fraudulently obtain compensation, submitting a false statement regarding an insurance claim or benefit, concealing or failing to disclose an event affecting benefits, perjury and making false statements to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Lester filed a workers’ compensation insurance claim July 12, 2021, and he was placed off work by his physician in January 2022. While off work, the CHP’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Investigations Unit received an anonymous tip. That led to the CHP initiating its own investigation into Lester.
The CHP said the investigation revealed Lester committed workers’ compensation fraud by engaging in activities, while on injury leave, inconsistent with the limitations and restrictions given by his medical providers.
The investigators also discovered that Lester committed perjury and made false statements to the DMV when he fraudulently misrepresented the purchase price of a vehicle he purchased, according to the CHP.
The CHP fraud investigators are based in the agency’s Sacramento headquarters, and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office obtained the arrest warrant for Lester.
“The CHP wants to assure the public that it takes all allegations of employee misconduct very seriously,” CHP officials said in the news release. “When allegations of misconduct by an employee are suspected, the department takes swift and appropriate action to investigate the allegations.”
Allegations of workers’ compensation fraud may be reported by calling the CHP’s fraud hotline 866-779-9237.
