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Victoria Newell-Brown, 56, pleaded guilty to 10 felonies in October, said the Attorney General's Office in a release.
In 2019, while working at a Family Dollar store in Philadelphia, prosecutors said Newell-Brown claimed she was "totally disabled" from a fall. The company paid her medical expenses, workers' compensation, and wage-loss benefits for $1,500 every two weeks for over two years, according to officials.
While collecting those checks, prosecutors said Newell-Brown took a job at a restaurant in Delaware under the alias "Victora Stephens," so that her Pennsylvania claims wouldn't be discovered.
After two months on the job, "Stephens" reported a workplace injury again, claiming the same injuries she did in Philadelphia, according to the AG's Office.
The restaurant's insurer paid for her disability wage-loss benefits and Newell-Brown received checks for both "injuries" until 2021, authorities said. To keep up the ruse, prosecutors said she lied to her employer, healthcare providers, judges, and others about her health, work and medical history, and disability claim history.
In total, authorities said she received over $97,000 in worker’s compensation and wage-loss benefits and $5,600 for medical expenses. One employer paid an additional $70,000 challenging her claims, prosecutors added.
“The defendant’s latest criminal episode lined her pockets while making a mockery of a system designed to help hardworking people who are injured at their jobs,” AG Michelle Henry wrote in a statement.
"This scam endured for more than two years, with the defendant receiving significant payouts from her employers.”
Newell-Brown was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison in a Delaware County court on Monday, Feb. 26, the Attorney General's Office said. She must also pay $170,655 in restitution.
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