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Yesterday, the California Department of Insurance with the assistance of the Huntington Park Police Department, arrested a Huntington Park woman who had been the guardian of her now deceased but formerly brain-dead husband, for workers’ compensation fraud. Rosa Maria Barajas has had her bail set at $505, 341. She faces up to five years in state prison and a fine in excess of $500,000 if she is convicted.

Jesus Barajas fell from a scaffold in October of 1997 while employed for Aramark Uniform Services. His injuries were so substantial that he was rendered comatose and brain dead. In the year 2000, his workers’ compensation agreement directed that he should receive $18,000 per month with 4 percent increases per year to maintain his egregiously disabled life. His wife, Rosa Maria Barajas, was appointed his legal guardian in 1998 and given full control over her husband’s finances.

She was directed in the Workers’ Compensation agreement to inform New York Life Insurance in the event of her husband’s death, because the growing $18,000 per month stipend was to be paid only during his lifetime. Upon Jesus Barajas death, if premature by definition according to the agreement, his heirs would receive $737 per month.

In May of 2010, Jesus Barajas died, nearly thirteen years after his catastrophic accident. Rosa Barajas, who had been specifically directed to notify New York Life in the event of the death of Jesus, did not notify New York Life. Instead, she continued to collect the growing $18,000 plus per month intended to maintain the egregiously disabled life of her husband who was now deceased.

By January of this current year, New York Life contacted the California Department of Insurance. They reported that Mrs. Barajas was continuing to collect on her deceased husband’s workers’ compensation agreement. That reporting and consequent investigation resulted in her arrest. By the time yesterday that she was finally arrested, she had already fraudulently collected over $500,000.

California Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, in response to Mrs. Barajas arrest commented: “Workers’ Compensation fraud is a drain on California’s economy and can increase the cost of doing business, result in a decrease in employee salaries, and increase the cost of insurance for all Californians. Employees need to know that their family will receive compensation if they are injured at work, but their families must also be honest with insurers if they are no longer entitled to receive settlement payments for a deceased family member.”