Ohio man pleads guilty in comp fraud scheme

A Cleveland, Ohio-based man on April 2 pleaded guilty to workers compensation fraud and other felonies in connection with deceiving hospitals to obtain prescription painkillers, the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation said in a statement Friday.

Kenneth L. Gilmore, 54, pleaded guilty in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas to 10 felonies including one count of workers comp fraud. Mr. Gilmore has three previous convictions for crimes against the BWC. Mr. Gilmore is serving a 27-month sentence at Lorain Correctional Institution on similar charges in a federal case. He was sentenced to 30 months in jail, to be served concurrently with his federal sentence, and ordered to pay BWC $6,075 in restitution, the bureau said in a statement.

“Mr. Gilmore filed a legitimate injury claim with us in 2001, but since then he’s filed several fake claims to obtain narcotics and have us pay for it,” Jim Wernecke, Columbus, Ohio-based director of BWC’s special investigation department, said in the statement.