Cop who claimed total disability was seen ‘dancing and drinking’ at Stagecoach, ran 5Ks, and went to Disneyland: DA

A erstwhile police serviceman from California claimed she couldn’t execute her duties aft sustaining a caput wounded connected the occupation — and past she was seen dancing astatine a euphony festival.

According to a press release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, 39-year-old Nicole Brown was a constabulary officer with the Westminster Police Department erstwhile she was injured connected the occupation successful March 2022. The merchandise stated that Brown sustained “a insignificant abrasion to her forehead portion attempting to apprehension and handcuff an uncooperative suspect.” She was examined astatine the exigency country aft she complained astir headaches, but was released without immoderate aesculapian restrictions.

Brown past allegedly called retired sick for respective days and claimed she’d been diagnosed with terrible concussion syndrome, which resulted successful her being placed connected full impermanent disability.

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While incapable to execute her duties arsenic an officer, Brown was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits aft sustaining her alleged wounded portion connected the occupation — including her afloat salary, tax-free, paid for by “the city, county, oregon authorities bureau that employs the officer,” according to the DA. After a one-year period, that magnitude decreases to 2/3 of her afloat wage but tin wage retired for up to 104 weeks.

According to the DA, Brown collected much than $600,000 successful benefits.

However, grounds obtained by the DA’s bureau called Brown’s alleged “total disability” into question. While retired connected disability, Brown allegedly claimed that she suffered from “headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to airy and noise, problems processing thoughts and words, and an inability to enactment connected the machine oregon bash immoderate screentime.”

But connected April 23, 2023 — a afloat twelvemonth aft Brown went connected disablement and portion inactive claiming to beryllium suffering symptoms of a concussion — Brown was seen by “several people” who had cognition of her aesculapian presumption “dancing and drinking astatine the Stagecoach Music Festival, with much than 75,000 radical successful attendance with large euphony and agleam lights everyplace and temperatures successful excess of 100 degrees.”

After those radical reported Brown’s activities astatine Stagecoach to the Westminster Police Department, an probe into the officer’s disablement claims began.

Brown’s ain stepfather, 57-year-old Peter Schuman, is an lawyer who specializes successful workers’ compensation cases, according to section Fox affiliate KTTV. He spoke connected behalf of his stepdaughter during a Zoom gathering that took spot 3 days aft Brown was purportedly astatine the Stagecoach festival. During that Zoom call, which acrophobic what duties Brown could presently execute arsenic a constabulary officer, the DA said that Brown claimed she could not look astatine the machine screen. Schuman, who reportedly “did each of the talking,” stated that his stepdaughter “was incapable to bash paperwork, and was uncertain that she could bash telephone calls owed to her inability to process words oregon thoughts.”

Brown was past reportedly admitted to inpatient attraction for traumatic encephalon injury.

But much grounds was seemingly unearthed during the DA’s probe into Brown’s alleged activities portion she was connected full disability. Three days aft she was injured, Brown attended a shot league that utilized respective PowerPoint presentations. Throughout the ensuing twelvemonth — portion claiming full disablement — Brown allegedly “ran successful 2 5K races, went snowboarding and/or skiing successful Big Bear and Mammoth, went to 3 AYSO shot conferences, attended shot games, played golf, went to Disneyland, and took online courses with a section university.”

Brown was charged connected Friday with 15 felonies — 9 counts of making a fraudulent connection to get compensation and six counts of making a fraudulent security payment claim. She besides faces a sentencing enhancement of aggravated achromatic collar transgression exceeding $100,000.

Schuman was charged with 2 felonies — making a fraudulent security payment assertion and assisting, abetting, conspiring with and soliciting a idiosyncratic successful an amerciable act.