Pasco store employee allegedly collected $11,000 in benefits for false claim

A Pasco grocery store employee has been charged with stealing workers’ compensation benefits for falsely claiming she was injured while chasing a shoplifter.

One year after her injury on the job, Sulia Hernandez Carranza allegedly admitted she filed the false claim to get medical treatment for a painful, preexisting knee problem.

One felony count of first-degree theft was filed by the Washington Attorney General’s Office based on an investigation by the Department of Labor & Industries.

Carranza, 50, is scheduled to enter a plea to the new charge Feb. 23 in Franklin County Superior Court.

Carranza’s last known addresses were in Kennewick and Spokane.

According to a Labor & Industries news release, Carranza was working as a loss prevention specialist in May 2014 when she said she was injured during a foot chase.

The workers’ comp claim provided medical care for the workplace injury, and the store let Carranza keep working with medical restrictions while her knee was being treated. She reportedly apologized to her employer in April 2015 for filing the false claim.

Carranza is accused of taking more than $11,000 in benefits, which includes $7,200 for medical treatment and nearly $3,900 that the department reimbursed the store for keeping Carranza on light duty.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Pasco store employee allegedly collected $11,000 in benefits for false claim."