Yellowstone Actress Q'orianka Kilcher Charged with Workers' Compensation Insurance Fraud
Q'orianka Kilcher has been charged with two felony counts of workers' compensation insurance fraud in California.
In a Monday release, the California Department of Insurance said that the 32-year-old actress allegedly broke state law by collecting disability benefits while she worked on Yellowstone. According to authorities, Kilcher told a doctor she was too injured to work while filming for her recurring role in season 3 of the hit show three years ago. Kilcher collected $96,838 in disability benefits from Oct. 14, 2019, through Sept. 9, 2021, the statement said. She self-surrendered and pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on May 27, Law360 reported.
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Kilcher played a supporting role in the 2019 Paramount Players film Dora and the Lost City of Gold and allegedly injured her neck and right shoulder while working on the movie, according to the insurance department's statement. The department alleged that the Dog actress "saw a doctor a few times that year, but stopped treatment and did not respond to the insurance company handling her claim on behalf of her employer."
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In October 2019, Kilcher allegedly contacted the insurance company to say she needed treatment and told a doctor that she had been unable to accept work offered to her since the injury occurred "because her neck pain was too severe." She started receiving temporary total disability benefits after making these claims, according to the release.
"After reviewing wage information from her employer, the investigation found Kilcher had worked as an actress on the television show Yellowstone from July 2019 to October 2019, despite her statements to the doctor that she had been unable to work for a year," the release read. "According to records, she returned to the doctor and started receiving disability benefits five days after last working on the show."
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The doctor who responded to Kilcher's insurance claim said that if they had been aware of the star's employment in 2019, "they would never have granted her the disability payments."
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Kilcher played attorney Angela Blue Thunder in four episodes of Yellowstone's third season, which aired in 2020.
Paramount Network, Paramount+ and reps for Kilcher did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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On Monday, Kilcher's attorney appeared in court in Los Angeles on her behalf. The actress' next court date is set for August 7.
The California Department of Insurance noted in its statement that workers' compensation insurance fraud in the 2020-21 fiscal year potentially resulted in a loss of $161.94 million to Golden State businesses and workers at large.
