Posted by Sharon on 8/26/10

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http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/poway/article_63a51d0b-
7bea-5e3b-8f72-8d4b59671d22.html

POWAY: Former employee accuses Poway auto dealership of
insurance fraud Timothy Hack asks DA's office to
investigate alleged cover-up related to his mold-related
illnesses

A former Toyota of Poway employee has asked the district
attorney's office to investigate his claim that the
dealership and its workers compensation insurer committed
insurance fraud when they allegedly denied that mold at the
business made him sick.
The Toyota dealership is the same one preparing to move
from the north side of Poway Road to the south side as part
of a relocation deal that will cost the city's
redevelopment agency $3 million up front....

...He and three other former Toyota of Poway employees with
similar claims spent about an hour Wednesday telling their
stories to investigators with the DA office's insurance
fraud division. Hack said he is acting as "the public
voice" for the group, which left the investigators with
copies of inspection reports, photos and other materials
that allegedly back up their claims.

...After mold was discovered earlier this year in the
building he worked in, Hack said, he showed photos of the
problem to his doctor, who diagnosed Hack as suffering from
mold exposure.

...The dealership then tried to get him to apply for
compensation under a federal Family Medical Leave Act
program and fired him when he refused to do so on
principle, said Hack, who is now getting state disability
payments.

"They're shirking their responsibilities at taxpayers'
expense," Hack said. "The state shouldn't pay when it's
clearly a workers comp issue."

...City officials have said they knew about the mold but
also believe it has been eliminated.

...Steve Walker, a spokesman in the DA's office said its
investigators would review the materials Hack and the other
former employees dropped off before deciding whether to
look into the matter further.

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