For anyone reading who thinks it’d be a good idea to file for worker’s compensation so you can keep being paid by your employers but have time off to travel the world and cagefight (in front of thousands of people, sometimes in front of television cameras), here’s some helpful advice: Don’t do that, idiot.
Bellator Fighting Championships and M-1 Global veteran Raphael Davis (12-2) on Tuesday pleaded not guilty on four felony counts of insurance fraud.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office alleges that Davis, a firefighter, made false claims for workers’ compensation between Dec. 2, 2008, and May 20, 2011.
Davis fought seven times during the period in question, including three fights under the Bellator banner and two M-1 Challenge bouts. He stands accused of competing while trying to collect workers’ compensation and could spend up to five years in jail, prosecutors said earlier this month. (via MMA Junkie)
His career was going pretty well, too — during his workers comp scam, Davis went 6-1 and just knocked out Berin Balijagic at a show in Switzerland. That’s a sad ending to the grift, especially when the only comparable story I can think of is the New York high school social studies teacher who took sick days to moonlight as a professional wrestler and ended up with a job at WWE.
I guess the lesson here is “if you’re gonna lie to your bosses, make sure your hobby isn’t covered by 1/8th of the Internet”.
