MIDWESTERN NEWS ZONE......

* A Mansfield, Ohio man has been sentenced in the Richland County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to fraud following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) Special Investigations Department (SID). A judge ordered Roger Roseberry to pay at least $500 per month to BWC and will face incarceration for six years if he fails to pay. He was also sentenced to five years of community control.

Roseberry was collecting Permanent Disability from the BWC for an injury that included total loss of use of his right arm and both legs due to Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, also known as RSD. A BWC Attorney referred the settlement to the SID for review after Roseberry submitted an application for a lump sum settlement in the amount of $617,000. The SID’s investigation revealed Roseberry did have use of both his legs as well as his right arm.

On March 30, Roseberry pleaded guilty in Richland County Common Pleas Court to one count of workers' comp fraud, a third degree felony and one count of theft, a fourth degree felony. As part of the plea agreement, Roseberry has agreed to repay $23,536.92 in restitution and $7,000 in investigative costs.

• As Southern Illinoisans began repairing homes and businesses damaged during the severe storms that swept through the area on May 8, Attorney General Lisa Madigan was reminding residents to protect themselves from con artists who are eager to exploit natural disasters for personal profit.
  
  Madigan also notes that local governments are adding a measure of protection for consumers as many of the affected municipalities and counties are requiring vendors to obtain special permits before they can lawfully offer their services.