California jockey Carlos Cristo will spend 60 days in home confinement, serve three years formal probation, and pay restitution of $30,000 to the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) along with a $200 court fine, following sentencing for his role in a workers’ compensation fraud case.
Cristo was employed as a jockey at Los Alamitos Race Course in December of 1994 when he fell off a horse and reportedly injured his back. He then filed a workers’ compensation claim for this accident and obtained medical treatments. Following the treatments, he continued his employment.
California Department of Insurance investigators reported that three years later, Cristo again fell from his horse at Los Alamitos and sustained injuries to his forearm, hip and back areas. Cristo once again filed a workers’ comp claim against his employer and obtained medical care. During medical evaluations with his physician, Cristo allegedly failed to report any prior injury to his back.
Less than a year later, Cristo returned to riding horses on a part-time basis at the race course and allegedly injured his back during another fall. He then filed a workers’ comp claim and received medical care for the injury during the same time period he was receiving treatments for his December 1997 injury. During medical evaluations with physicians, he allegedly failed once again to note any previous injuries to his back.
Cristo obtained Total Temporary Disability benefits through Golden Eagle Insurance and SCIF at the same time. He also allegedly received money from the Jockey’s Guild and a non-profit organization known as “To Aid Disabled Jockeys,” allegedly not reporting any of the income to either Golden Eagle or SCIF. He also received vocational rehabilitation benefits from both Golden Eagle and SCIF as a result of the alleged industrial injuries. He allegedly lied about his employable job skills at his second vocational rehabilitation interview and received benefits when he was not entitled to them.
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