Marion Piggee, Jr., 68, of Los Angeles, Calif., was arraigned on seven counts of insurance fraud after an investigation by the California Department of Insurance revealed he was allegedly underreporting employee payroll by nearly $6 million to reduce his business’s workers’ compensation insurance premium by over $1 million.
On Nov. 28, 2016, the State Compensation Insurance Fund filed a suspected fraudulent claim with the CDI alleging potential insurance fraud. SCIF reported that Piggee, as owner of Center for Behavioral Change, an adult residential care facility, allegedly underreported employee payroll to reduce the proper rate of insurance premiums owed to SCIF.
A routine audit for the policy period of Nov. 1, 2014, to Nov. 1, 2015, reportedly found that Center for Behavioral Change reported one employee and payroll wages of $8,035. However, the audit reportedly revealed wages to be $881,593 for the same policy year. It also showed Piggee’s business had obtained workers’ comp insurance for one facility, but failed to disclose they had also acquired eight other facilities.
The investigation found that Piggee had allegedly been underreporting company payroll from November 2009 through May 2016. The investigation also revealed Center for Behavioral Change had 60 employees, despite their reporting of only one employee. The business allegedly underreported payroll by $5,982,410, which resulted in a premium loss to SCIF of $1,017,937.
Piggee was arraigned at the Los Angeles Superior Court on April 6. The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Topics California Fraud Workers' Compensation
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