ABC’s ’20/20′ Goes Undercover With Private Investigator To Catch Worker’s Comp, Insurance Fraud

ABC’s 20/20 goes undercover to watch private investigators as they gather evidence against people faking injuries in order to receive worker’s compensation. The two PI’s featured in this episode are Bari Kroll and Bob Kiehn. Tonight, viewers will get to see investigators as they go deep into the backwoods of the Midwest to catch a farmer the insurance company believes is committing insurance fraud by faking an injury that he claimed to have received on the job.

Dressed in camouflage clothing, ABC’s 20/20, along with the private investigator, hide out and watch the home of a farmer during the early morning hours. They endure harsh weather and long hours until they finally see the farmer surface. When he finally does, the wait is worth it as they film the farmer lifting heavy objects onto a truck. In this investigation, it took a total of four hours to catch the farmer in the act. The cameras hid the face of the farmer since the private investigator is still gathering evidence against the subject.

Bari Kroll is a private investigator and owner of B. Lauren Investigations, and has appeared as a TV expert on ABC, NBC, The Maury Show, Fox Business, and Varney & Co, according to her Facebook page.

Bob Kiehn is a private investigator at his company National Special Investigations Unit (NSIU). He is also a television consultant for ABC News.

The goal of worker’s compensation is to provide money to workers who are injured while working on the job. It is legal in all 50 states in America. This helps the employee with payments for medical and doctor bills, as well as assists the employee with money while they take time to heal from their injuries without the burden of worrying about being sick without being paid. It is a big relief for those who participate in the program. The worker’s compensation laws are set out by the state government.

The laws are designed to help both the workers and the employers. In many cases, like the case outlined in the ABC‘s 20/20 episode, many worker’s feign illness and pretend to be injured so that they can receive worker’s comp money without having to work. Community members and employers are admonished to report all suspected incidences of worker’s comp fraud. When an investigation is launched, the detectives or private investigators go undercover to catch people in the act.

Several past TV documentaries have shown workers who are receiving worker’s compensation in the act of working other jobs, engaging in sports, or other strenuous activities that show they are entirely capable of working but choose to commit fraud.

However, not every employer has worker’s compensation. In these instances, many employees are working at their own risk. This is a problem often seen with independent contractors, such as those working in the construction industry. In many cases, some construction companies hire undocumented workers to perform grueling and dangerous tasks without any benefits — leading many injured workers to fend for themselves when they are hurt on the job. In some cases, lawsuits have been filed against these companies.

Tune into ABC‘s 20/20 tonight for the latest episode at 10 p.m. ET. Below, watch this worker as he is caught in the act of faking an injury.

[Photo Credit: Facebook]