Investigators say they used footage from 2014 Miss Toyota Grand Prix contest in Longbeach, CA to catch insurance fraud in the act. A 22 year-old beauty contestant was arrested after authorities discovered her featured in an online video competing in the competition, all while allegedly collecting disability from a reported foot injury. Little did the 22 year old know that the cameras she was so eagerly posing for would be the same cameras capturing the evidence needed to book her on 3 counts of serious insurance fraud.
The contestant was Shawna Palmer, a clerk at a nearby grocery store who had recently filed for workman’s comp after allegedly injuring her toe during work hours. However, within two days after leaving her doctor’s office in crutches, Palmer was seen competing in a beauty contest in little but high heels. To make matters worse, Palmer was seen competing in high heels in yet another beauty competition, less than a week after telling physicians that she ‘could not place any weight on her foot, move it in any direction, or wear a shoe for any length of time’. If convicted, she will face a possible a year in prison and repayment of the $24,000 in benefits she has collected on disability leave so far.
However, true cases of workman’s compensation is nothing to joke about. Unlike this contestant, most of my patients in the Crofton and Gambrills area who see me for far an evaluation want to reduce the amount of work time lost as a result of a foot injury. This is why I work with all of my patients with work related foot injuries to get them back into regular shoes as quickly yet safely as possible. If you have any foot pain or injuries that are keeping you from doing what you want to, it is important you seek the consultation of a foot and ankle specialist and if you’re in the area click here to schedule a visit with me at Crofton Podiatry.
By Brad Toll.