Caught on Tape: Skydiving on Worker's Comp?

Nov. 2, 2009 — -- When the economy goes down, fraud goes up. Authorities say it's happening right now with insurance fraud when people may fake or exaggerate injuries to collect lucrative benefits.

The Connecticut State's Attorney Office said Garrett Dalton was willing to do anything to stay home from his job as a prison guard and keep collecting worker's compensation.

State investigators charged him with felony fraud after his supervisor at the New Haven Correctional Center spotted him running in a 40-yard dash sponsored by a radio station. Dalton, of Naugatuck, Conn., entered a not guilty plea. On November 12, his case was dismissed.

"Desperate workers can be very imaginative when they smell worker's comp money," said James Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

But insurance investigators said these cases cost real money -- billions of dollars a year -- and they're on the rise because of the recession.

"As long as you have a down economy, you're going to have people trying to scam the system just to save their own hides and bail themselves out from a difficult situation," Quiggle said.