MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) – A state employee who worked at a reform school was arrested Monday on charges she collected workers’ compensation while playing professional football, prosecutors said.

Corynthia D. Simpson, 34, of Middletown was arrested by state inspectors and charged with two counts of fraud and one count of third-degree forgery, according to the chief states attorney’s office.

Simpson’s attorney, M.H. “Reese” Norris, declined comment Monday.

Simpson was out of work from the Juvenile Training School for a purported job-related injury while she was also playing tackle football for the Connecticut Crush of the National Women’s Football Association, prosecutors said.

Simpson played as a defensive and offensive lineman for the Crush, which plays in what authorities called the world’s largest women’s tackle football league.

Simpson played in all games this season, including one in June in which she made 10 tackles, prosecutors said.

Simpson also was charged with changing the date on which she was supposed to return to work on a form in connection with her worker’s compensation case.

The fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, while the forgery calls for up to five years, authorities said.

Simpson was released on a written promise to appear at her arraignment on Oct. 30 in Middletown Superior Court.

AP-ES-10-16-06 1258EDT

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