'Yellowstone' actress charged with workers' comp fraud
Workers’ comp fraud in California resulted in the loss of more than $161 million during the 20-21 fiscal year, according to the state insurance department.
Actress Q’Orianka Kilcher, who portrayed Pocahontas in 2005’s “The New World” and has a reoccurring role on the TV show “Yellowstone,” has been charged with two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud, according to the California Department of Insurance.
She is alleged to have fraudulently collected $96,838 in disability benefits between October 2019 and September 2021, the insurance department reports.
An investigation by the insurance department found Kilcher was working on the television show “Yellowstone” during a time she told doctors that neck and shoulder injuries prevented her from working.
The initial injuries occurred during the 2018 filming of “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” according to the insurance department. Following the injury, she saw a doctor a few times, but stopped treatment and didn’t respond to the insurance company handling her workers’ comp claim.
In October 2019, Kilcher contacted the insurance company and indicated she needed treatment. She told the doctor handling the claim that she had been offered roles but was unable to accept new work since the injury as the neck pain was too severe. Based on those statements, she began collecting temporary total disability benefits.
However, wage information from Kilcher’s employer indicated the actress was working on “Yellowstone” from July 2019 to October 2019, despite her claim of being unable to work for a year. Less than a week after last working on the TV program, she returned to the doctor and started receiving benefits.
The doctor handling the claim, who was not named, said if they had been aware of Kilcher’s recent work history, her disability payments would have never been approved.
While the charges were announced on July 11, 2022, Kilcher was arraigned on May 27, 2022, and plead not guilty. She is expected back in court on Aug. 7, 2022, according to the California Department of Insurance.
In a statement to “Variety,” Kilcher’s attorney said the actress never intentionally accepted benefits she didn’t feel entitled to, and that the injury and entitlement to benefits were verified by third-party doctors.
The California Department of Insurance reported that workers’ comp fraud in the state resulted in losses of more than $161 million during fiscal year 2020-2021.
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