Unfortunately, workers' compensation fraud has been on the rise.The poor state of the U.S. economy is certainly a factor inaddition to the mortgage meltdown and government cutbacks. Evenrising student debt in this environment is placing pressure onyoung people. Equally unfortunate are those who see fraud as asolution to their challenges. Many consider it easy money and aresimply clueless to the potential consequences. There are alsoplenty of examples of sophisticated cases that require careful andpersistent digging.

Insurers write more than $1 trillion in insurance premiumsannually according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),providing significant opportunities for fraud to be perpetrated.The FBI estimates the total cost of non-health insurance-relatedfraud to be more than $40 billion per year, costing the averageU.S. family an estimated $400 to $700 per year in increasedpremiums.

The National Insurance Crime bureau says that Workers'Compensation fraud accounts for approximately 25 percent of thefraud perpetrated, or approximately $7.2 billion annually and isone of the fastest growing areas of fraud. One insurance executivehas said that “If Workers' Compensation fraud were a legitimatebusiness, it would rank among Fortune 500 companies.”