Ventura County District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced the filing of a felony complaint against Keri Atwood (DOB 09/24/1984) and Michael Atwood (DOB 08/28/1976) of Santa Paula. Both defendants are charged with committing workers’ compensation fraud and conspiracy. Keri Atwood is also charged with grand theft and burglary. This case was investigated by the Valencia office of the California Department of Insurance.

Keri Atwood, a civilian employee of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, reported to her supervisors that she sustained an injury to her left ankle. According to Keri Atwood, the injury occurred when another employee accidentally hit the back of her foot with a mail cart. She was placed on Temporary Total Disability (TTD) status and received over $29,000 in disability pay.

Keri Atwood used crutches or a wheel chair to get to her medical appointments. After her medical appointments, she was seen walking freely without the aid of crutches or a wheel chair. She was also observed engaging in a number of physical activities that she had told her treating physicians she could not perform. Michael Atwood drove Keri Atwood to her doctors’ visits and failed to disclose her true physical condition.

The defendants were arrested on February 7, 2013, by investigators from the California Department of Insurance. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on February 8, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 12. Keri Atwood faces a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in county jail. Michael Atwood faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in county jail.