In the wake of criminal charges against several of its members, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is decrying an alleged scam that prosecutors say involved seven Long Beach dockworkers billing the union’s health insurance plan for sexual services disguised as physical therapy or chiropractic care.
The benefits in question “counteract the difficult work that longshore workers do on the docks every day, and they are vitally important to tens of thousands of people working at ports in California, Oregon and Washington,” ILWU Coast Committeeman Cam Williams said Monday. “The Officers of the ILWU take any fraudulent acts against the plan seriously and want such abuse rooted out.”
Last week, federal prosecutors unveiled charges that over half a million dollars was paid out by the union’s insurance plan following fraudulent claims submitted by 46-year-old Sara Victoria, the conspiracy’s alleged ringleader who operated three wellness and chiropractic clinics in the harbor area from 2017 to 2021.
Prosecutors say Victoria admitted in a plea agreement that she hired women from local strip clubs to work at the clinics where they offered sexual services. Prosecutors say Victoria knew dockworkers had insurance through the International Longshore and Warehouse Union–Pacific Maritime Association plan that generally had no deductible, copay or other out-of-pocket charges for chiropractic services, so she recruited them to submit fraudulent claims.
“In exchange for...
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