The addition of an investigator at the Yukon's workers' compensation board in 2007 could save more than $4 million in fraudulent claims by the end of this year.

"One of the questions that we're asked about frequently is where do we get the information, where do the tips come from for the investigator?" Valerie Royle, president and CEO of the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board, told an information session Tuesday afternoon.

According to Royle, board staff "may pick up some unusual activity" about potential frauds, as well as information from anonymous sources.

"They come from the ex-boyfriend, who is part of a breakup, isn't happy and they phone us. They come from people in the community who see something and don't think it's quite right," Royle said of tips, all of which are investigated.

Of seven files red-flagged by the board's investigator in 2007, six were fraudulent worker claims. The other was a case of an employer not paying appropriate

assessment premiums.

The board anticipates that seven more files pulled in 2008 will yield similar results.

While the board could not release the names of those making bogus claims due to pending RCMP investigations, Royle provided some details about the nature of the suspected frauds.

In one case, a man's loose lips sank his claim to bogus benefits.

"He was having a few drinks and started to brag that he was defrauding the Yukon workers' compensation board and an employer, who pays high assessment rates in that jurisdiction, heard, got angry and phoned us here," said Royle.

Another case involved a man who had claimed he was incapacitated by an injury. Yet, he was offering services online as an athlete-for-hire in a variety of rigourous sports positions, including hockey goaltender, and baseball catcher and centre fielder.

According to Royle, all employee frauds to date involve people injured on the job in the Yukon who then relocate to another juridiction, take up other employment while still receiving compensation benefits from the board.

The annual budget for the investigator, including wages, benefits and travel expenses is $115,577, a cost Royle said is earning dividends for the board by halting fraudulent claim payments.

From investigations conducted in 2007, the board estimates it saved more than $2 million. It anticipates saving another $2 million when this year's investigations are concluded.

"This is just the savings on the future benefits and does not include any money that we're able to retroactively collect," Royle said.

The board was attempting to set up repayment schedules with guilty parties, she added.

"The scope of the investigator's position is quite broad," she added. "It runs the full gamut of the organization."

Objectives set out in the board's policy include ensuring compliance with the Workers' Compensation Act, improving board decisions and verifying assessment reporting from employers, including potential fraud by board staff or its board of directors.