28 year old Keri Atwood of Santa Paula, was sentenced to 36 months probation, 150 days in county jail, and restitution in the amount of $18,319.

Her husband, 37 year old Michael Atwood, also of Santa Paula, was sentenced to 36 months probation and 60 days in county jail.

On August 14, 2013, Keri Atwood entered guilty pleas to four counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud.

Michael Atwood entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit workers’ compensation fraud.

Defendant Keri Atwood, a civilian employee of the Ventura County Sheriffs 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 Totally Disabled (TTD) status. Over the next several months, Atwood remained on TTD and received over $29,000 in disability pay.

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

This case was investigated by the Valencia office of the California Department of Insurance.