Paralegal, husband indicted in $1 million law-firm embezzlement
Headline Legal News
A paralegal and her husband have been indicted on suspicion of embezzling more than $1 million from the law firm where she worked.
The suspects are Rosanne and Michael Stogner. A grand jury indicted them this month in a series of thefts from Oaxaca, Bernal & Associates between March 2001 and May 2007.
Rosanne Stogner declined Monday to talk about the charges and her attorney, Dolph Quijano, did not return calls.
Rosanne Stogner was employed at the law firm at 1515 Montana as a paralegal and an office manager from 1999 to 2007, according to a complaint affidavit by police. Her responsibilities included preparing case files and paying bills.
But she also allegedly paid herself money to which she was not entitled.
Police alleged in the affidavit that Stogner made out checks to herself, to her husband, to his fence company and even to her daughter's personal trainer.
Related listings
-
BP Deposits $3 Billion in Spill Fund
Headline Legal News 08/09/2010BP PLC said Monday that it has made an initial deposit of $3 billion into a $20 billion spill-recovery fund. BP said it was making the deposit earlier than the originally scheduled Sept. 30 deadline to show its commitment to restoring the livelihoods...
-
Mo. man pleads guilty in 10-fatality Okla. wreck
Headline Legal News 08/03/2010A former Missouri truck driver charged in the deaths of 10 people in a northeast Oklahoma traffic collision has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and 10 years probation.Ottawa County District Attorney Eddie Wyant said in a statement that 77-year-old ...
-
Murder conviction of mom reversed in California
Headline Legal News 08/03/2010An appeals court panel has reversed the murder conviction of a mother accused of driving her teenage son and his friends to a Southern California park where a 13-year-old rival gang member was stabbed to death.The 2nd District Court of Appeal panel r...
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.