Ex-Cop Charged for Faking $600,000 Head Injury While Partying at Music Festival

A former Westminster, California police officer is facing 16 felony charges after she was seen partying at a music festival despite claiming a debilitating head injury left her unable to work, according to press release issued by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

From 2022 to 2023, Nicole Brown allegedly attempted to bilk the California’s workers’ compensation system out of $600,000, citing a diagnosis of "severe concussion syndrome" sustained in the line of duty. She complained of various ailments like headaches, dizziness and an inability to work on the computer.

But her dance moves told a different story. Fellow attendees of Goldenvoice's Stagecoach Festival, a number of whom knew Brown was off work on Total Temporary Disability (TTD), saw her drinking and dancing her way through the event in April 2023 before reporting their findings to the Westminster Police Department.

A subsequent investigation revealed Brown's romp through the Empire Polo Club—where Goldenvoice's Coachella festival also takes place—wasn't her only activity during her time off. She also allegedly visited Disneyland, ran in a pair of 5k races and went skiing.

According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Brown has been charged with nine felony counts of making a fraudulent statement to obtain compensation, six felony counts of making a fraudulent insurance benefit claim, and one felony enhancement of committing an aggravated while collar crime over $100,000. She faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in state prison.