Delgado, 51, pleaded guilty last week to second-degree malicious mischief, a felony, for unlawfully taking payments from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) from April 2019 to January 2022.

Pierce County Superior Court Pro Tem Judge Brian Tollefson ordered Delgado to pay $60,116 in restitution to L&I and serve 20 days in electronic home monitoring.

Delgado, a roofer, falsely told L&I he was not working due to his on-the-job injuries so he could receive wage-replacement payments, which are intended for legitimately injured employees who can’t work.

An L&I fraud investigation found Delgado actually held multiple jobs during that time. Investigators even recorded him in this video carrying a heavy, wooden table for his job cleaning out vacant houses.

“When you take benefits from the workers’ compensation fund, that’s money that truly injured workers can’t use to get better,” said Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&I’s Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division.

“If you try to cheat the workers’ comp system, you’ll not only have to repay what you took – you’ll end up with a criminal record.” 

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

Private investigator tips off L&I 

Delgado was working as a roofer in Tacoma when he fell more than six feet from a ladder, injuring his back, ankle and knee in March 2019. His doctor confirmed he could not work, and Delgado regularly completed official L&I forms stating he was not working due to the workplace injuries.

But in early 2021, a private investigator told L&I that Delgado was indeed working, charging papers said. The roofing company that employed Delgado when he was injured had hired the investigator to look into his work status.

With help from the tipster’s report, L&I launched its own investigation. It found Delgado resumed working within a couple weeks of his injury without telling L&I. Over the next three years, he continuously held jobs as a custodian, roofer, or house-cleaner emptying and preparing vacant homes for sale.

Carries table weighing 48+ pounds

While investigating Delgado’s claim in October 2022, an L&I undercover investigator asked Delgado if he could have a table that he was discarding by a Tacoma house. Delgado agreed, and carried the table by himself, at chest level, more than 50 feet, unaware another investigator was filming him.

Investigators later weighed the table, which tipped the scales at 48.6 pounds. At the time, Delgado was medically restricted to lift no more than 25 pounds, charging papers said.

Delgado’s doctor watched video of the table activity and other surveillance, and said Delgado had not accurately represented his physical abilities to him, charging papers said. The physician determined Delgado was able to resume roofing work.   
                                               

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