The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Correctional officer John Smiley told colleagues he was shot by a parolee outside a San Francisco restaurant.
The story stood until he filed a workers’ compensation claim for the injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down and could have led to a nearly $2.5 million payment.
Court records showed the altercation actually started at a swingers club, where Smiley and his wife were engaging in sex with strangers.
Now Smiley, 44, and his wife, Cynthia Ann Biasi-Smiley, face five felony counts alleging they conspired to commit fraud. The couple are due in Sacramento County Superior Court on Wednesday for arraignment.
The couple did not return a phone message left Monday at their home by The Sacramento Bee. They could not be immediately reached Tuesday by The Associated Press.
Smiley initially told colleagues a former inmate had recognized him and opened fire on April 27, 2008 outside a restaurant, the newspaper reported.
However, court records said the Smileys were having sex with another couple when John Smiley’s condom broke, angering the male companion of the other woman.
The unidentified man threatened Smiley and later shot him in the back as he and his wife were walking to their car, the documents said.
Corrections Department officials did not respond to a request for comment.
No arrests have been made in the shooting.
The State Compensation Insurance Fund issued a report saying it had expected to spend nearly $2.5 million to settle the claim but instead has spent $6,500 to investigate the alleged fraud.