A Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) investigation found Linda Lashell Jordan, 56, had six dogs, including some she was fostering or advertising for sale, at her southwest Washington home. At the same time, she was insisting her PTSD and dog phobia were so severe she could not work.

Jordan pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree attempted theft of state workers’ compensation benefits, a gross misdemeanor offense. Wahkiakum County Superior Court Judge Heidi Heywood sentenced Jordan to 30 days in jail but allowed her to serve it under electronic monitoring at home.  

L&I’s investigation determined Jordan took more than $162,000 in wage-replacement payments from September 2016 to October 2019 while claiming she could not work. 

The Washington Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case based on L&I’s investigation.

“This is clearly a case of someone abusing the workers’ comp system,” said Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division.

 “It’s not a victimless crime. She was taking money from the fund that helps workers who really are seriously injured on the job and need support to heal and get back to work.”

L&I is seeking repayment from Jordan, of Grays River in Wahkiakum County.

Claimed she couldn’t work on chance she might see a dog

Jordan worked as a meter reader for the Pacific County Public Utility District when a dog bit her right arm in 2007, causing serious injury. Over the next several years, she filed injury claims to L&I, maintaining she couldn’t risk working or even driving a vehicle because she might encounter a dog.

Her medical providers confirmed she couldn’t work due to her on=the-job injuries, which is one of the requirements to receive wage-replacement payments.

In 2014, for instance, her doctor confirmed she fainted whenever she saw dogs and could not return to her job, according to charging papers.

Undercover investigator finds dogs at claimant’s home

L&I started investigating Jordan in 2018 when a claim manager suspected something was amiss in her case.

An L&I investigator visited Jordan at her home, then in Cathlamet, west of Longview, by pretending to be interested in buying bricks she’d advertised for sale. He found she had three French bulldogs and three boxers, who were swarming around her— and she didn’t faint or look scared. 

Instead, Jordan told the investigator how she and her husband had been rescuing and fostering boxers for 30 years, and warned him that one of the dogs might bite, charging papers said. She let him take a photo of her with two of the boxers.

Selling dogs, driving against medical advice

The investigation also revealed that Jordan advertised dogs for sale on Facebook using her maiden name, an alias, and her husband’s name. Though her health care provider advised her not to drive in case she saw a dog and fainted, investigators saw Jordan driving nine times in 2018 and 2019.

Psychiatrist changes diagnosis to malingering

In August 2019, the case investigator showed photos and other surveillance materials to a psychiatrist who once treated Jordan.

The psychiatrist changed Jordan’s previous diagnosis from post-traumatic stress disorder and dog phobia to malingering—pretending an illness or injury to avoid work—charging papers said. He found that Jordan was actually capable of returning to work as a meter reader as early as September 2016.