A longtime Colorado postal worker faked a cancer diagnosis to get time off of work, and for nearly two years, she got away with it. Her charade was discovered, however, when she misspelled the name of her supposed physician in forged doctors’ notes she provided to her supervisor. An investigation by her employer revealed the extent of her ruse, and she was eventually indicted in federal court.

Although this case is an extreme example and not representative of most employees, it’s a good reminder that you should keep proper documentation and conduct a thorough investigation if you suspect an employee isn’t being honest about the need for medical leave.

Deception Begins

In 2015, Caroline Boyle of Highlands Ranch, Colorado informed her supervisor at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that she had recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and needed time off. Boyle, who had been employed at the USPS’s customer products and fulfillment category management center in Aurora for 25 years, had recently been denied a promotion.

Over the next 20 months, Boyle took 112 days of sick leave and was allowed to work part-time and attend frequent doctor visits. Her boss also permitted her to work from home and granted her paid administrative leave that did not count against her sick-leave balance.

Faked Doctors’ Notes Lead to Indictment

To support her need for time off and other accommodations for her claimed cancer, Boyle provided numerous doctors’ notes to her supervisor. One note stated that she was being treated for lymphoma at Anova Cancer Care in Lone Tree. That note included the purported signature of radiation oncologist Gregg Dickerson. She submitted another note purported to be from Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers in Lone Tree, signed by Dr. Ioana Hinshaw.

In June 2016, a supervisor became suspicious of Boyle’s cancer claim, prompting a USPS investigator to begin reviewing the doctors’ notes she had provided. The investigator found that Dickerson’s name was spelled incorrectly on the note.

The possible forgery caused the inspector to show the note to two Anova administrators, who stated that Boyle wasn’t a patient of the clinic or of Dickerson. They also said that the template of the note was wrong and didn’t include the doctor’s U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and medical license numbers. The inspector then checked with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers and learned that Boyle wasn’t a patient of Hinshaw, either.

In March 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Boyle on felony counts of forged writings, wire fraud, and possession of false papers to defraud the United States.

Guilty Plea and Sentencing

In late April, Boyle pleaded guilty to the indictment as charged. According to the facts in her plea, after not being selected for a promotion, she decided to take some time off work by pretending to have cancer. She admitted she took substantial amounts of sick leave and received numerous other workplace accommodations despite not having non-Hodgkins lymphoma or any other type of cancer or serious illness. She also created the alleged doctors’ notes despite not being a patient of either doctor. She intended to keep up the cancer ruse until her scheduled retirement in April 2017, after which she planned to take a vacation to Hawaii. Based on the charges, she faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

At the sentencing hearing, a former subordinate of Boyle’s, Lisa Roberts, testified that Boyle had essentially mimicked her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Roberts had worked at the Aurora postal center and reported to Boyle until 2012.

In 2010, Roberts began fighting non-Hodgkins lymphoma and needed time off for treatment. Boyle accused Roberts of faking cancer in order to take a long vacation, asking her why she didn’t lose her hair. Boyle demanded that she provide her confidential medical records, which she believed Boyle later used to fake a cancer diagnosis.

By the time Boyle claimed to have cancer, Roberts had lost her job in Aurora and moved to Texas. She returned to testify at Boyle’s sentencing hearing because she believed Boyle modeled her fake illness on her real cancer. She alleged that Boyle claimed to have the same type of cancer and to be receiving treatment at the same cancer centers, essentially using all of her medical information to create her fake illness. Roberts further stated that while Boyle was given wide-ranging accommodations for the fake cancer, she had denied similar accommodations to Roberts.

On August 22, 2017, federal judge Raymond Moore sentenced Boyle to five years’ probation with the first six months as in-home confinement wearing an electronic monitor. The judge also ordered her to pay a $10,000 fine and $20,798 in restitution. In perhaps the most fitting portion of the sentence, the judge ordered her to perform 652 hours of community service at a cancer treatment center, research facility, or hospice.

Lessons Learned

Most employees wouldn’t dream of fabricating a life-threatening illness in order to take advantage of sick leave and other employee benefits. But every once in a while, a dishonest manipulator may think he can get away with it.

If you become suspicious about an employee’s need for leave or question whether he or she really qualifies for an employee benefit, conduct an investigation. But be sure to do so within the confines of applicable law so that your investigation doesn’t result in unexpected liability – e.g., Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference, violation of privacy rights, or retaliation. In fact, if faced with a potential “fake” illness scenario, it’s best to consult with your employment counsel when you first suspect a problem.