Texas man to pay $806K for underreporting payroll to workers comp firm

A Texas man has been ordered to pay $806,000 in restitution to workers compensation insurer Texas Mutual Insurance Co. after pleading guilty to workers comp fraud-related charges, the insurer said Monday.

Howard Douglas Whiddon of Dripping Springs, Texas operated Austin, Texas-based Whiddon Masonry & Stucco Inc., Texas Mutual said in a statement. The Austin-based insurer said Mr. Whiddon “intentionally misrepresented” the operations and payroll of a related company from 2004 to 2008, allowing his firm to pay artificially lower workers comp premiums.

In addition to restitution, Mr. Whiddon was sentenced by a Travis County, Texas court to 10 years of deferred adjudication and 160 hours of community service.