Graphic artist found guilty of comp fraud

A former Ohio man injured on the job in 1991 pleaded guilty to workers compensation fraud on March 5.

Investigators found John W. Bezusko, 50, working in Colorado while collecting injured workers benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, the bureau said in a statement Friday.

Mr. Bezusko must pay $19,530 in restitution to the Ohio BWC and serve five years of probation for the first-degree misdemeanor, according to his sentence in a Franklin County courtroom.

“We reviewed bank records, emails and other evidence showing Mr. Bezusko worked as a graphic designer for his home-based business while living in Grand Junction, Colorado,” Jim Wernecke, director of BWC's special investigations department, said in the statement.