INFORMAL DISCOVERY
Arraignment Defense Attorney Portal (ADAP)
Digital Discovery Management is an informal discovery portal to assist you with arraigning your client and is currently available only in a limited number of courtrooms. We will be expanding its use in the coming months.
Please note that ADAP is not intended to provide official discovery.
If you are a California licensed attorney and would like to receive informal discovery on the day of your client’s arraignment, or up to 24 hours prior, you can register as a NEW ADAP USER at: https://dap.ocdapa.org Our system communicates directly with the California State Bar and uses two-factor authentication. Please ensure that your registered email address matches your active state bar profile. To update your state bar profile, please visit: https://members.calbar.ca.gov/login.aspx.
After registering, if your client is set for arraignment in CJ1, please email: CJ1-DDA@ocdapa.org. Make sure to include the Defendant’s name and Case number in the subject line, along with a statement confirming your representation. Alternatively, you may directly request access to discovery from the assigned DDA handling your case. In all other courtrooms, please check-in with the assigned DDA for ADAP availability.
For all other discovery requests, please contact the unit assigned to your client’s case. If you are unaware of the unit, please call our general line at 714-834-3600.
Thank you.
FORMAL DISCOVERY
Defense Attorney Portal (DAP)
The Defense Attorney Portal allows defense attorneys to access formal discovery electronically via the Axon Justice platform. This service shares discovery in the same manner that OCDA provides discovery to the Public Defender and Alternate Defender.
OCDA staff can now share bates stamped materials and other discovery items through the portal. Once our office has shared discovery, the DAP user will receive a notification email of shared discovery. As a DAP user, you can view and download discovery from your Axon account for 90 days. The use of the DAP is expected to eliminate the need for physical discovery in most cases.*
To create an Axon account free of charge and have access to shared discovery, please follow our steps to enroll. Must be eligible to practice law (active in State Bar website).
Steps to enroll:
- Use our prompt below to enter your information and request an enrollment packet
- You will receive a welcome email and a DocuSign user agreement
- Once the user agreement is submitted, an additional Axon generated e-mail will be sent with a final link to set up your account.
Your welcome email will also include a link to a video with step-by-step instructions on how to access your Axon account, view shared discovery, and download discovery.
Important Note: For any account-related questions please email eDiscovery@ocdapa.org. This email is intended for portal administration communication only and cannot accept discovery requests. Please continue to direct discovery requests to the unit assigned to your client’s case or 300 N. Flower St., Santa Ana, CA 92703.
Thank you.
Sign up for Defense Attorney Portal (DAP)
Request an enrollment packet to access the DAP Portal
Please note: OCDA aims to eliminate all physical discovery processes and transition entirely to eDiscovery. *
*Depending on the nature of the case, some discovery will continue to be disseminated in legacy format
Workers' Compensation Fraud
The Worker’s Compensation Insurance Fraud Division prosecutes a large variety of cases in our fight against workers’ compensation insurance fraud which costs Californians between an estimated $1 billion to $3 billion every year. Our team works together to investigate and prosecute a large variety of cases in criminal court in Orange County. Common types of workers’ compensation insurance fraud that the team prosecutes are listed below.
Fraud by Medical and Legal Professionals/Providers (Provider Fraud)
Fraud by doctors, chiropractors, lawyers and other professionals further harm workers that were legitimately injured on the job and need care to get better. These professionals either bill insurance companies for services that they did not give to the injured worker or give patients procedures, medical supplies, or prescriptions that they do not need. The team also prosecutes lawyers, doctors, chiropractors, and other professionals who pay (in money or services) another person to recruit or refer patients.
Fraud by Employers
- The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud Division prosecutes a variety of fraud by employers including employers who do not accurately report their employees’ payroll, employment status (unfairly calling employees independent contractors) or job duties to their insurance companies in order to illegally reduce their workers’ compensation insurance premiums/payments (Premium Fraud). Premium Fraud is unfair to other businesses who are competing fairly.
- The team also prosecutes employers who do not have or do not maintain a workers’ compensation insurance policy for their employees in violation of Labor Code section 3700 and employers who deny benefits to their employees by discouraging injured workers from filing a workers’ compensation claim in violation of Insurance Code section 1871.4.
Fraud by Employees
Our team also prosecutes employees, including government employees, for Claimant Fraud. Examples of these prosecutions include:
- Employees who say an injury happened at work when it did not;
- Employees who do not report other income they have while they are receiving benefits;
- Employees who lie about their recovery while receiving workers’ compensation benefits so that they can receive benefits longer (e.g., an employee who says that he still cannot perform certain movements like lifting heavy objects when he can perform these movements in his private life such as at the gym).
Fraud by Contractors in Public Works
The Worker’s Compensation Insurance Fraud Division works to hold contractors in the public works system accountable. Public Works contractors violate the law when they bid for public works projects and later fail to pay a proper prevailing wage or fringe benefits to their employees (violation of Labor Code section 1778) or they dissuade their workers from filing a workers’ compensation claim if injured on the job (violation of Insurance Code section 1871.4).
Fraud by Insiders
The Worker’s Compensation Insurance Fraud Division also prosecutes insiders like insurance brokers who commit fraud in the worker’s compensation system by pocketing their client’s premium payments and falsifying insurance policy documents.
Disability and Healthcare Insurance Fraud
The Disability and Healthcare Insurance Fraud Division investigates and prosecutes schemes that defraud disability and healthcare insurance companies and often hurt vulnerable individuals. Some examples are below:
Fraud by Medical and Legal Professionals/Providers (Provider Fraud)
Fraud by doctors, psychologists, laboratory companies, pharmacists and other professionals further harm individuals who seek medical treatment. These professionals either bill insurance companies for services that they did not give to the patient or give patients procedures, medical supplies, or prescriptions that they do not really need. The Disability and Healthcare Insurance Fraud Division also prosecutes doctors, chiropractors, laboratory companies and other professionals who pay (in money or services) another person to recruit or refer patients.
Fraud in the Addiction Treatment Industry
The Disability and Healthcare Insurance Fraud Division has a specialized team to investigate and prosecute fraud related to addiction treatment centers and sober-living homes called the Sober Living-Home Investigation and Prosecution (SLIP) Team. Patients addicted to opioids are particularly vulnerable to fraud within the addiction treatment industry and the addiction treatment industry is largely unregulated. Some schemes include marketers, doctors, and laboratory companies that operate within a scheme to pay addicts to receive medical or mental health treatment, procedures, prescriptions or laboratory tests (some of these procedures are experimental and could even seriously harm the patients).
OCDA Sober Living telephone tip line: (714) 664-3950
OCDA Sober Living referral email: soberlivingreport@da.ocgov.com
Disability Fraud
The Disability and Healthcare Insurance Fraud Division also prosecutes individual claimants who attempt to cheat the system by continuing to collect disability payments after they have returned to work or after they have recovered from their injuries.
Other Prosecutions
The Disability and Healthcare Fraud Division also prosecutes other types of fraud including fraud by pharmacists or embezzlement by insiders in the disability and healthcare insurance industry.
You can report suspected disability and healthcare insurance fraud to the Orange County District Attorney's Office Insurance Fraud Unit by emailing hffraudfd1@da.ocgov.com.
OCDA Healthcare fraud referral email: hffraudfd1@da.ocgov.com
OCDA Sober Living telephone tip line: (714) 664-3950
OCDA Sober Living referral email: soberlivingreport@da.ocgov.com
Automobile Insurance Fraud
The Automobile Insurance Fraud Division is a concentrated team that investigates both fraud by policyholders of vehicles as well as fraud by individuals who are involved in the treatment of personal injuries that resulted from an automobile collision.
Fraud by Policyholders & Arson
The Automobile Insurance Fraud Division prosecutes insurance policyholders who file false claims based on staged collisions or traffic accidents. The team also prosecutes those who falsely report a vehicle as stolen to their insurance companies. Some of the automobile insurance fraud cases that the team prosecutes involve arson, which creates a major public safety risk.
Fraud by Medical and Legal Professionals/Providers (Provider Fraud)
The Automobile Insurance Fraud Division prosecutes fraud by doctors, chiropractors, lawyers and other professionals that further harm individuals that already suffered personal injuries from auto accidents. These professionals either bill insurance companies for services that they did not give to the patient or give patients procedures, medical supplies, or prescriptions that they do not really need. The team also prosecutes lawyers, doctors, chiropractors, and other professionals who pay (in money or services) another person to recruit or refer patients.
Insider Fraud
The Automobile Insurance Fraud Division prosecutes insiders like insurance brokers who commit fraud in the automobile insurance system by pocketing their client’s premium payments for auto insurance and falsifying insurance policy documents.
How Do I Report Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud?
Workers’ compensation insurance fraud costs Californians between an estimated $1 billion to $3 billion every year. Help the Orange County District Attorney's Office fight workers’ compensation insurance fraud.
You can report suspected insurance fraud to the Orange County District Attorney's Office Insurance Fraud Hotline by calling 714-648-3650 (anonymous calls accepted) or via email at wcfraudfd1@da.ocgov.com.
Orange County District Attorney’s Office works closely with the California Department of Insurance (CDI). You can contact Orange County’s CDI office via phone or fax.
California Department of Insurance Regional Office
Orange, CA 92868
Phone: (714) 712-7600
Fax: (714) 456-1838
The public can report suspected fraud to California Department of Insurance here: https://cdiapps.insurance.ca.gov/CRIMS/publicform/
Insurance carriers, TPAs, and self-insured employers can report suspected fraud to California Department of Insurance via an electronic FD-1 here: https://cdiapps.insurance.ca.gov/crims
OCDA Healthcare fraud referral email: hffraudfd1@da.ocgov.com
OCDA Sober Living telephone tip line: (714) 664-3950
OCDA Sober Living referral email: soberlivingreport@da.ocgov.com