KCRA reports that Todd Phillips, a 17-year veteran Folsom correctional officer, is accused of presenting false claims to the State Compensation Insurance Fund, according to court documents. After a brief court hearing Wednesday, he repeatedly gave the same answer when asked by KCRA 3 about these allegations. “No comment, sir,” Phillips said.

In court documents obtained by KCRA 3, workers’ compensation fraud investigators allege that Phillips repeatedly played in competitive softball tournaments while out on an injury claim. Phillips said he injured himself in November 2010 when he slipped on a prison stairwell, according to court documents. The allegations say the fraud took place between Dec. 27, 2011 and September 2012.

“Workers’ compensation fraud is a big issue in California,” said Nancy Kincade, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Insurance. Kincade would not speak to Phillips’ case specifically. But she said in the past year, the state has received 5,100 complaints of suspected workers’ compensation fraud. She said the estimated losses to employers, businesses and the state is $342 million in the past year alone. “This is something that everybody pays for in higher premiums. … It could keep you from getting a raise because of added cost to employers,” Kincade said.

Because of this issue, Kincade announced the state is granting more than $31 million in funds to district attorney’s offices statewide to prosecute suspected fraud cases. “We know this issue is much bigger than just the cases we hear about, and that’s why we need to put a stop to it,” Kincade said.