FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The store owner of a gas station where a clerk was shot and killed in February has been arrested and charged with worker's compensation fraud.
Mohammed Ansari, 51, is accused of allowing his worker's compensation to run out. As a result, he was unable to provide 32-year-old Zuheily Rosado's children with any compensation after their mother's death.
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Ansari was being held in the Flagler County Inmate Facility with bail set at $1,000.
Rosado's six children, ages 16 months to 16 years old, were unable to collect death benefits. Court documents show Ansari did not keep up with worker's compensation insurance payments.
In March, central Florida TV station WFTV spoke with Ansari, who said he sent in a check to pay for the coverage, but it was lost in the mail. According to an affidavit, operating without worker's comp coverage is a felony.
It's not the first time Ansari's coverage for worker's comp lapsed, according to WFTV. It happened in October and was reinstated a week later when a payment was mailed in.
According to the affidavit filed in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Ansari's worker's comp insurance lapsed on Jan. 7, a month and a half before the shooting.
If the insurance had been current, the victim's family would have received $7,500 for funeral expenses and up to $150,000 in death benefits for the children, according to the affidavit.
When asked if Rosado's family will see any of the money, Ansari told WFTV that's up to the insurance company.
Jacksonville lawyer, John Phillips, who was retained by Rosado's family, said they plan to file suit against Ansari next week.
No arrests have been made in the death of Rosado at the Mobil Mart store in February. Phillips said his office has offered up to $5,000 for anyone with any information that leads to the conviction of her killer.
Crime Stoppers is also offering a $5,000 reward. Tipsters can call Detective Mark Moy, of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, at 386-586-4801.