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A workers’ compensation claim has turned into accusations that the billionaire frontrunner in the Georgia governor’s race, a health care executive who has vowed to deport more immigrants, hired illegal immigrants to work on his property.

Republican Rick Jackson, founder of a health care staffing firm, failed to check the citizenship status of people working on his mansion in Georgia, according to court records obtained by the New York .

The revelations came to light after one long-time laborer claimed he was injured while working on Jackson’s estate, the Post, The Hill, and AOL.com . The Georgia Board of Workers’ Compensation erred in denying the workers’ claim because it did not review evidence that Jackson may have hired the worker without checking his immigration status or work authorization, the worker’s attorney argued, the news sites noted.

Jackson said in depositions two years ago that he did not know that another worker, a supervisor, was undocumented and was not authorized to work in the United States. Jackson said he had hired some people through one of his companies.

An appeal on the workers’ comp claim denial is set for May 14 in Forsyth County Superior Court, just before the primary election vote.

The Jackson campaign could not be reached for comment, AOL.com reported.

Photo: Jackson at a recent candidate forum hosted by the Georgia Association of Manufacturers’ in Atlanta. (Matthew Pearson/WABE via AP)

Topics Georgia