Fraud charge against Austin restaurant manager dismissed; insufficient evidence cited

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Fraud charge against Austin restaurant manager dismissed; insufficient evidence cited

A fraud indictment filed in 2022 against the manager of an Austin restaurant in connection to a workers compensation claim has been dismissed. The charge against Alison Clem, the manager of La Barbecue, was dropped April 16 because of insufficient evidence, according to a motion to dismiss.

Clem and her wife, LeAnn Mueller, who owns the restaurant at 2401 E. Cesar Chavez St., were accused of not disclosing an employee’s injuries before getting an insurance policy that was backdated to three weeks before the employee was hurt, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.

The charge against Mueller was dismissed Aug. 3, 2023, according to court records.

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The charges were connected to an incident in which an employee was severely injured while operating a piece of kitchen equipment in 2016, the Texas Department of Insurance has said. At the time, the business did not have workers compensation coverage, the agency said. It said four days after the worker was injured, Clem contacted Paychex Insurance to get the coverage.

The policy was approved by Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America, which ended up paying the injured employee more than $350,000 in medical and indemnity benefits, the insurance department said.

Roark has previously said it is legal to obtain a backdated insurance policy.

The dismissal of the charge against Clem validated “what Clem and her team have maintained all along; that they acted lawfully, transparently, and in good faith,” said a news release Friday from Clem’s lawyer, Brian Roark.

Clem said in the release that she was “incredibly thankful to District Attorney (José) Garza and his team for giving our case the attention and fairness it deserved.”

“We couldn’t have made it through this without the unwavering support of our community, our customers, and our team,” Clem said. “We’re grateful for the chance to return our full focus to what we love — sharing our barbecue with the community, made with care, the way La Barbecue always has.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman:

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