Tawdry Tryst Exposes Workers’ Comp Fraud

For six months Modupe Adunni Martin, 28, went about her daily routine as best she could—on crutches, claiming an ankle injury prevented her from working and walking unassisted. Then one day after an otherwise uneventful doctor's appointment, Martin threw caution into the wind and slipped on high heels to meet her boyfriend at a public park.

Unbeknownst to her, investigators were watching…and waiting. That's because the Hayward, Calif. woman's behavior raised suspicion long before the revealing rendezvous, which would eventually lead to ten counts of insurance fraud and her arrest.

In February 2009, Martin allegedly injured her ankle while working as a custodian for the Sequoia Union High School District. As a result of the incident, she reportedly could not “work or walk without pain” and began receiving treatment for her injury. According to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, Martin used crutches on at least ten visits to the doctor to obtain workers' comp benefits.

Her blatantly inconsistent behavior soon piqued the interest of the county's insurance fraud unit, which began an investigation employing hidden cameras near the doctor's office. Wagstaffe's office observed Martin schlepping to the doctor's office with crutches, only to exit without them.

On this most incriminating occasion, Martin in fact walked out of the office to her car, where she tossed the crutches in the back seat, drove to a gas station, slipped on high heels, and then proceeded to a nearby public park.

Prosecutors say that while there, she met a man and participated in activity that a doctor concluded “she could not have engaged in with an ankle injury.”

Authorities arrested Martin in August 2009, charging her with ten counts of insurance fraud. This past week, she re-entered a plea of “not guilty” and is currently free on $40,000 bail. Her trial is slated for Oct. 22, plenty of time to visit with gentleman callers on the other side of the glass.