He told doctors he had “significant pain” when he stood or sat, authorities said.
Housework is anything but routine.
California Highway Patrol Trooper Jordan Roy Lester claimed that medical retirement was the only way out due to the serious injuries, according to authorities. The department’s internal affairs investigators then observed Lester cutting trees, stacking firewood and operating heavy machinery on his newly purchased land.
Fast forward two years, and the 17-year-old Army veteran pleaded guilty Wednesday in Sacramento County Court to felony insurance fraud and was sentenced to 270 days in county jail.
Lester, 45, also had two years of formal probation and was ordered to pay $232,829 in restitution to the CHP and $127,791 to the State Compensation Insurance Fund.
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He will also lose service and pension credits for the year the fraud was committed.
“We take workers’ compensation fraud very seriously because it has a direct and lasting financial impact on employers and delays medical care and financial assistance for employees who are legitimately injured on the job,” Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Tianhe said in a statement.
Ho added: “Allowing a peace officer to commit such fraudulent conduct not only breaches their duty to serve and protect with integrity, but also breaches the public trust.”
Leicester is Arrested in QuincyIn August 2024, following a multi-year investigation by the CHP Workers’ Compensation Fraud Investigation Unit, an incident occurred in Northern California’s Plumas National Forest. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said Lester filed a workers’ compensation claim in July 2021, but his supervisor said the injury was “not serious.” He wasn’t fired.
Lester was assigned to CHP Central Division but was briefly transferred to Quincy, according to the CHP office. The home he purchased is in Quincy.
He worked on the property on his days off and eventually contacted a former police officer in hopes of getting a medical pension, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
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If he successfully achieves medical retirement, he will receive 85 percent of his salary, tax-free, for life, the district attorney’s office said.
As a CHP officer, Lester earned more than $260,000 in salary and benefits in 2021, according to the Centers for Health Protection Public Pay Database Transparency California.
In January 2022, Lester went to see a doctor to corroborate his story, authorities said. He was immediately removed from his regular shift. His fate collapsed shortly after investigators witnessed him engaging in “vigorous physical activity” on his property, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
An independent medical examiner examined Lester in February 2024 and said not only was Lester able to “perform all job duties,” but the CHP veteran also “exaggerated his complaints,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He was arrested six months later.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
