A former police officer in California received $600,000 while on full disability leave. Meanwhile, she was actively engaging in various activities like taking multiple ski trips, having a vacation at Disneyland, working towards an advanced degree, and attending a music festival, according to allegations made by prosecutors.
Nicole Brown, aged 39, experienced a minor head injury during an arrest in 2022 and utilized this injury to go on an extended leave period filled with partying—leading to 15 felony charges in connection with an alleged fraudulent workers’ compensation scheme, as reported by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Despite allegedly suffering from “post-concussion syndrome,” the former officer from the Westminster Police Department was seen indulging in drinking and partying at the Stagecoach music festival, prosecutors stated.
Yet in a Zoom meeting about her health three days after the festival, Brown had the gall to appear on camera in a darkened room and told Westminster Police officials she was unable to look at the screen without discomfort, according to the DA.
During the heisted holiday, Brown also went to Disneyland, ran two 5K races, went to Big Bear and Mammoth mountains for skiing or snowboarding, attended several youth soccer conferences, and went to baseball games, prosecutors said.
She also pursued an online master’s degree in organizational leadership at a local university, according to ABC.
Brown collected the hefty $600,000 through her full, tax-free salary in addition to her medical expenses, according to the DA’s office.
She could face up to 22 years behind bars for the alleged fraud.
The 39-year-old had help concocting the alleged scheme from her stepfather, Peter Gregory Schuman, an attorney who practices in workers’ compensation, the DA’s office said.
Schuman, 57, “did all the talking” for Brown in meetings with Westminster PD officials and oversaw his stepdaughter’s admission into an inpatient center for individuals with traumatic brain injuries, prosecutors said.
Schuman is charged with two felonies linked to the alleged scheme that carry a maximum of eight years in state prison, the release stated. He could also lose his license to practice law.
