In 2013, Latonja Johnson worked at two different jobs. She worked at Goodwill as an e-commerce book handler, sorting books that had been donated. She also worked for a company called Advantage Sales and Marketing (ASM) as an events specialist. Her job was to hand out food samples at Sam’s Club.

Johnson filed a worker’s compensation claim with Goodwill claiming she injured her back on July 12, 2013, while lifting books out of a book bin.

She filed a second worker’s compensation claim with ASM on July 31, 2013, claiming she injured her back on July 11, 2013, while lifting a small oven used to heat food.

She proceeded to be treated by two sets of doctors under both claims.

On May 29, 2015, Latonja Johnson was interviewed by investigators from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for filing two claims with two separate employers while working for both at the same time.

She said she was employed by Goodwill, and she had filed a claim for her back injury from July 12, 2013, and was treated by company doctors. Defendant said she did not work for another employer while employed with Goodwill. She said she was hired by ASM but only trained with them and did not officially work for them. Defendant said she told her supervisor at Sam’s Club that she was hurt but that she was not injured at Sam’s Club. She claimed her supervisor forced her to file paperwork with ASM anyway.

A jury found Johnson guilty of two counts of knowingly presenting a fraudulent claim. The court of appeal affirmed in the unpublished case of People v Johnson.

Her appeal argued two issues. Whether her conviction for presenting a fraudulent insurance claim in count 3 was part of an indivisible course of conduct, such that the court should have stayed the sentence rather than imposing one year consecutive. And whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendant probation.

After the court’s independent review of the record it found no arguable issues.