RENTON, Wash. — A Renton man is facing charges after he stole thousands of dollars worth of workers’ compensation payments from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) in 2023. Investigators found that he lied about being injured on the job after being recorded at a local fitness center lifting weights and exercising.
According to a press release from L&I Friday, Omid Dashti, 41, has been arrested and charged with one count of first-degree theft. Prosecutors with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office accused Dashti of stealing more than $28,000 in workers’ compensation payments from March through November 2023 from the department. Dashti was arrested after he failed to appear twice at his arraignment to enter a plea in King County Superior Court.
Investigators with L&I found that between March and November of 2023, Dashti told the department that he couldn’t work because he injured himself on the job, which was a requirement to receive payments for his supposed lost wages, according to charging documents.
During an undercover investigation, Dashti was recorded doing weight-training exercises and lifting more than 150 pounds at a fitness center in Renton. Investigators also found out about Dashti’s scheme after someone familiar with Dashti’s injury claim saw him exercising at the gym. The person then told investigators.
Dashti went to the fitness center on multiple occasions, revealing to investigators that he wasn’t injured on the job and violated medical restrictions in ordinance with his injury claim.
“Stopping workers’ compensation fraud means more money for the injured workers who really need it,” Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division, said. “We can’t be everywhere, so we truly appreciate tips from the public about cases of suspected fraud.”
If you see or suspect someone is cheating the workers’ comp system, call 1-888-811-5974.
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