COLORADO WOMAN ACCUSED OF WORKERS’ COMP FRAUD

Lisa Rondina-Fitzgerald, 42, of Aurora, Colorado, was arrested Wednesday for fraudulently accepting $15,850 in workers’ compensation benefits while she worked as a waitress for an East Hampton restaurant, the New York State Insurance Department reported.

Rondina-Fitzgerald was arrested by the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota. She surrendered on a charge of workers’ compensation fraud after returning from Colorado where she has relocated. The charge resulted from an investigation by Solomon Jones of the Insurance Department’s Frauds Bureau, and the New York State Insurance Fund.

Rondina-Fitzgerald began accepting benefits after injuring her back while employed as a veterinary assistant. She later submitted signed statements to the Insurance Fund claiming she was not employed. At the same time, she was actually working as a waitress.

If she is convicted, Rondina-Fitzgerald could be sentenced to four years in prison. She was released pending a hearing to be scheduled in Suffolk County Court.