Shawna Lynn Palmer only added to the stereotype that Bbauty contestants aren't the smartest people on Earth with her failed workers' compensation scam.
Police arrested the 22-year-old woman on three felony counts of defrauding an insurance company. Insurance fraud investigators grew suspicious of her claim and caught her participating in several beauty pageants while collecting workers' compensation benefits for a foot injury, according to CBSLA.com.
Palmer told her employer, Stater Bros. Markets, on March 10 that she had sustained a foot injury. She worked at the store as a clerk. Her doctor had ordered her to stop working.
She made multiple doctors' visits and claimed she couldn't place any weight on her foot, wear any type of shoe for a period of time or move her foot in any direction. The doctor gave her an orthopedic shoe and crutches, and encouraged her to elevate the foot whenever possible.
Palmer's neighbor never saw her use the shoe or crutches, and wasn't surprised by her actions based on Palmer's past work experience.
"Basically, she would just call in sick a lot to work," Tamra Purdue told KCLA 9 News. Purdue's son used to work with Palmer. "But she would be having pool parties or kind of things like that."
This time, Palmer traded in pool parties for beauty pageants. Insurance fraud investigators dug deeper due to the unusual delay in her return to work. A quick Internet search brought up two YouTube videos of Palmer participating in the 2014 Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix beauty contest. The pageant took place during the time she was collecting her benefits.
"She certainly possessed the beauty and bravado, but certainly not too much brains," said Byron Tucker, California's deputy insurance commissioner. "She lied to her employer, she lied to her doctor, she lied to a lot of people. She eventually got arrested and busted for this."
If convicted, Palmer faces up to a year in jail or $24,000 in fines.
