A Cuyahoga County Jail sergeant is facing felony workers' compensation fraud and grand theft charges after investigators say he collected disability benefits for a shoulder injury while working strenuous shifts at his own barbecue restaurant. William Brewer, who has worked at the jail since 1997, is now on unpaid leave and free on bond after pleading not guilty.
According to News 5 Cleveland, investigators say Brewer fraudulently received benefits he was not entitled to after sustaining a shoulder injury during an altercation with an inmate in April 2023. He began collecting workers' compensation tied to that injury, the station reports, even as his bosses grew suspicious about how he was spending his time away from the jail.
A Grand Opening Raises Red Flags
The following month, jail staff attended the grand opening of Brewer's barbecue restaurant, where he was seen cooking and serving customers himself, per the station's report. The jail warden described Brewer as performing more strenuous work at his restaurant than he ever did at the jail, according to the same account.
By August 2023, the warden told News 5 Cleveland he had received inquiries about when Brewer would return to work, and people reported witnessing him continuing to perform physically demanding labor at his other job. The warden said reports of Brewer doing that work continued, the station's report states.
State Investigators Step In
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation opened an investigation into Brewer in November 2023. The agency's Special Investigations Department investigates suspected workers' compensation fraud, according to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Even as that investigation proceeded, workers' compensation paid Brewer $18,712.89 in benefits in January 2024, with Brewer still listed as injured and on leave at the time, per the station's report. He has since returned to duty at the Cuyahoga County Jail, though he is now on unpaid leave amid the criminal case.
Charges Filed in Franklin County
The charges against Brewer were filed in Franklin County rather than Cuyahoga County, a venue choice that aligns with standard state procedure. State workers' compensation fraud cases evaluated by BWC investigators may be presented to grand juries in Franklin County, where the bureau is headquartered, or referred to local county prosecutors, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
The indictment alleges Brewer fraudulently received between $7,500 and $150,000, covering the period from late December 2023 through the end of February 2024, the station's report notes. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.48, workers' compensation fraud in that dollar range is a fourth-degree felony carrying 6 to 18 months in prison and fines up to $5,000. The grand theft count, charged under Section 2913.02 for the same dollar range, carries an identical potential sentence.
A spokesperson for the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation did not respond to a request for more details, and Brewer's attorney did not respond to a request for comment, per the station's reporting.
Part of a Broader Enforcement Push
Brewer's case lands amid an active statewide crackdown on claimant fraud. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's Special Investigations Department reported securing 56 fraud convictions and saving the State Insurance Fund nearly $92 million during fiscal year 2025. Within that total, the bureau's claimant fraud unit alone closed 1,044 cases, leading to 74 criminal referrals, 35 indictments, 34 convictions, and $66.6 million in savings for the state fund.
Similar cases have surfaced elsewhere involving public-safety employees accused of exploiting injury benefits. In a case Hoodline covered last month, a former California sheriff's deputy was charged with workers' compensation fraud after surveillance video caught him heavy weightlifting at a gym despite reporting severe physical limitations to medical providers. And in March 2025, an Illinois State Police employee was charged with workers' compensation fraud and theft for allegedly accepting disability benefits while secretly working a second job.
Brewer's case adds to a run of recent legal scrutiny touching Cuyahoga County's justice system. Earlier this month, former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Carl Sullivan was indicted on two felony obstruction of justice counts and given a $10,000 bond. In August, a federal judge sided with Cuyahoga County in a class-action lawsuit over inmate overdetention, ruling that officials had taken timely corrective action regarding release delays from 2021 to 2023.
