FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A former Broward Sheriff's Office claimed a back injury that he suffered on the job forced him to use a wheelchair, even though surveillance video showed him walking around while he was running errands, state investigators said.
Nicolas Carreno, 45, of Lauderhill, is charged with worker's compensation fraud.
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According to a Florida Division of Insurance Fraud report, Carreno "deliberately misrepresented his ability to perform daily activities in order to gain medical benefits" while employed with the BSO.
Carreno claimed that he was injured in a work-related incident in October 2007. Carreno said his injury was so severe that he felt a sharp pain in his lower back while reaching for and lifting his laptop computer out of the trunk of his patrol car.
After undergoing surgery, Carreno was given a wheelchair and placed on a no-work status, telling his employer that he couldn't drive, bend or pick up lightweight bags because of the injury.
However, surveillance video obtained by investigators showed Carreno using a wheelchair for his doctor's appointments and then ditching the wheelchair while he went shopping at a mall, the complaint affidavit said. The report also said that Carreno was seen driving after telling his doctor that he couldn't.
When asked by a state investigator whether Carreno thought it was important to tell his doctor about his ability to drive, Carreno said he didn't have an answer, the report said.
The state determined that Carreno duped the BSO out of more than $54,000.