A psychologist and doctor in California were charged for allegedly submitting fraudulent insurance claims for workers’ compensation medical legal evaluations in an attempt to steal tens of thousands of dollars from multiple insurers.

Licensed psychologist Danita Stewart, 51, of Chatsworth and Dr. Catalino Dureza, 54 of La Quinta, were charged. Stewart allegedly submitted 36 fraudulent insurance claims between April 2015 and June 2015 to five different insurers for medical legal evaluations for a total of $90,714. A medical legal evaluation is conducted to evaluate an employee’s work-related injury. Stewart was a licensed psychologist but she was never certified as a Qualified Medical Examiner in order to legally conduct and bill for Medical Legal Evaluations.

Dureza had obtained the certification to conduct and bill for these evaluations but the certification lapsed. He continued to conduct and bill for these evaluations, but once he was recertified he conducted and billed for unauthorized medical legal evaluations. Between January 2014 and May 2015 he allegedly submitted 17 fraudulent insurance claims for Medical Legal Evaluations conducted in Fresno County to five different insurers for a total of $16,292.

“Workers’ compensation insurance fraud is a multi-billion dollar drain on our state’s economy,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “It is crucial that we work with our partners in law enforcement to catch fraudsters like these who are contributing to higher insurance premiums for all Californians.”

The cases were investigated by the Central Valley Workers’ Compensation Task Force, an anti-fraud partnership which include the California Department of Insurance, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, the Madera County District Attorney’s Office, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, the Employment Development Department and the Franchise Tax Board.

The two cases will be prosecuted by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

Read more from the California Department of Insurance.