Former Salinas resident gets nearly 9 months in prison for insurance fraud

A former Salinas resident has been sentenced to eight years and eight months behind bars for fraudulently obtaining disability benefits.

Chip Kyle Bolton, 33, claimed an on the job injury in 2011 and was receiving worker’s compensation payments, but was later caught on camera playing basketball. That’s despite his claims that he was having difficulty standing for more than hour and holding his baby daughter, prosecutors said.

Bolton, who now lives in Arizona, was convicted last month of seven felony counts involving welfare fraud and workers’ compensation fraud.

Prosecutors claimed Bolton told a claims adjustor he was unable to stand for more than an hour and a numbing sensation from his hips to his knee. He was filmed that same day exercising on an elliptical machine and playing basketball at the YMCA.

Prosecutors say Bolton also lied on public assistance forms, attesting he wasn’t receiving unemployment benefits even when he was. Social services employees subsequently determined he was ineligible to receive any benefits whatsoever because he did not accurately and truthfully provide information on all his income, expenses, and the number of persons in his household.

Bolton was ordered to pay restitution of $84,350, which will be split among workers’ compensation, the department of social services and the Employment Development Department.

Bolton will serve his prison sentence in Monterey County Jail.