Former Spanaway restaurant owner to pay in fraud case

Susan Kathleen Ruiz, former owner of the Spanaway restaurant Roadside BBQ, pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony first-degree theft following exposure of what the Department of Labor & Industries calls “a workers’ compensation scam.”

The department said in a release this week that Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon ordered Ruiz to pay $56,147 in restitution to L&I plus $800 in court costs. Dixon also sentenced Ruiz to 30 days in jail, a sentence that she will be allowed to serve at home while being electronically monitored.

Ruiz began receiving workers’ compensation benefits in 2007 when, working as a painter, she fell from a ladder, the department said. The injury left her unable to work, she and her physician attested, although a subsequent investigation by the agency provided information, including video footage, showing that Ruiz owned, operated and was able to work at the Spanaway restaurant.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Former Spanaway restaurant owner to pay in fraud case."