Prosecutors have charged a Santa Ana police officer with workers’ compensation fraud for allegedly failing to disclose the status of his recovery while continuing to receive 100% pay after sustaining an injury from a 2017 car chase, officials announced Wednesday.
Jonathon Ridge, 39, continues to receive pay as an officer with the Santa Ana Police Department as he faces four felony counts of insurance fraud, Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, told KTLA.
The Police Department said it referred the case to the DA’s Office after the city notified the agency of the alleged fraud in May 2019.
The department released a statement after the DA’s announcement Wednesday, saying it’s cooperating with prosecutors and that it’s conducting an internal affairs investigation.
According to the DA’s Office, Ridge went on disability leave on Oct. 5, 2017, when a pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle ended in a crash that left him injured.
Seven months later, while still on leave, Ridge underwent surgery on his left wrist.
“His doctor continued to keep him off work while he was recovering from the surgery,” a statement from the DA’s Office said.
The doctor deemed him able to work with restrictions in November 2018, seven months after the procedure, officials said.
However, the city couldn’t accommodate the extent of the restrictions and therefore was required to continue to pay Ridge “total temporary disability” that allowed him to receive full compensation without working. The officer also received disability payments through insurance, according to the DA’s Office.
The DA said because Ridge did not seem to improve 18 months after the crash and despite undergoing surgery on his wrist, the city authorized surveillance of the officer from March to May 2019.
“The surveillance and subsequent investigation found that Ridge was engaging in activities well beyond what the doctor had imposed,” the statement from the DA’s Office said. “Ridge began attending college classes nearly full-time beginning in June 2018 – just weeks after his surgery. Additionally, he packed up his car and drove to Utah, went to the beach, and drove his motorcycle.”
“Ridge failed to disclose to his doctor or to the City of Santa Ana what he was actually capable of doing,” the statement added. “This deprived the doctor of the opportunity to impose realistic work restrictions that the City of Santa Ana could accommodate. Instead, Ridge continued to receive 100% of his pay without working even though he was capable of returning to work in a modified position.”
A Santa Ana police officer makes an annual salary of about $85,284 to $103,692, according to the Police Department’s website.
If convicted as charged, Ridge could face up to eight years in state prison.