A nurse who worked at Kern Medical Center faces three felony charges of workers’ compensation fraud. Nicole Nunez, 45, told a doctor she was still in pain, though investigators say surveillance video showed a different picture.

Reports reviewed by Eyewitness News say during doctor visits in September 2012, and Nunez “represented herself with significant pain and a worsening condition.” She reportedly went to a doctor at the memorial Occupational Medicine Clinic on Sept. 17 and Sept. 26. The investigation report says Nunez told the doctor she had “moderate back pain with pain running down her legs with numbness and tingling,” and the doctor continued her TTD benefits.

But, the doctor then reviewed surveillance video from dates before and after these appointments. On all of those days, the doctor said the surveillance showed her moving easily.”Nunez was noted to move much easier into the driver’s seat of her SUV vehicle than she had displayed during the office visit approximately 30 minutes earlier,'” the report reads. The doctor said that video didn’t match how Nunez had described her condition, and he modified her benefits.

Investigators say on Sept. 26 Nunez went back to the doctor and asked why her work status had changed. She also told the doctor her condition was getting worse and she had fallen since the last appointment and re-injured herself.

Eyewitness News tried to contact Nunez and left several messages, but those have not been returned. Kern County Deputy District Attorney Kate Zimmermann told Eyewitness News workers’ comp laws require recipients to report their conditions with “complete truthfulness” and provide all relevant information. She said doctors must rely on recipients’ reports when it comes to pain and function levels.

Zimmermann said Nunez is alleged to have misrepresented information twice, and withheld information once. Investigators say Nunez was fraudulently paid TTD benefits totaling $2,114.Nunez is set to be in court on the three felony charges on June 13.