Arrests for November 2000
These arrests were made possible through the cooperation of the Frauds Bureau, law enforcement, the insurance industry and the public.
To report suspected incidents of insurance fraud, call 1-888-FRAUDNY
CAUGHT!
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TIME TO PAY THE PIPER
On 11/29/00, Stephen T. Maimone of Pittsfield, New York, who on three separate occasions submitted fraudulent certificates of insurance in order to obtain work on various projects while avoiding payment of appropriate insurance premiums, was sentenced to a stiff fine of $1,000 plus a $110 surcharge and three-years probation. Maimone was arrested in 8/00 following an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
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TWO FOR ONE
Two Upstaters Arrested on 11/30/00.
Charged with various crimes.
- A Ballston Spa woman is charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree. The defendant allegedly submitted a claim to her insurer falsely stating she had been involved in a work-related accident and included paperwork attesting to the accident and the injuries she allegedly sustained. She subsequently received $2,400 in lost wage benefits.
- A Schenectady janitor was also arrested in this case and charged with offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and conspiracy in the 5th degree. The janitor is accused of suggesting the scam to his fellow employee and signing the accident form as a witness. The investigation leading to the two arrests was conducted by the Frauds Bureau with the assistance of the Saratoga County District Attorney’ Office.
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QUEENS AUTO THEFT RING ROUNDED UP
21 Arrested in connection with fraud sweep on 11/21/00.
Charged in enterprise corruption and various other crimes.
A fraud sweep conducted on 11/21/00 led to the arrest of 17 individuals in connection with the operation of a multi-million dollar auto theft, dismantling and stolen parts ring operating in Queens and Brooklyn. Six of the defendants are charged under New York State’s Organized Crime Control Act with operating a criminal enterprise. These six defendants and 11 others are also charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and unlawful dismantling, among other crimes. Four additional arrests have subsequently been made in this case. According to the charges, the manager and operator of the ring would receive orders for specific auto parts from body shop owners. The manager would then allegedly give orders to various thieves, called "steal men," and dismantlers, known as "cutters," to steal cars for the requested parts. The stolen cars were then dismantled and the parts shipped to the auto body shops that had ordered them. The ring manager also faces charges in an alleged arson in Brooklyn and an alleged shooting up of a building in revenge for the theft of a motorcycle. A ten-month investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the NYPD Auto Crime Division, and the Queens District Attorney’s Office led to the arrests. The Hartford Insurance Company provided funding and investigative assistance.
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TAXI!
Long Island Man Arrested on 11/20.
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree.
During the period from 11/6/96 to 12/9/97, a warehouse worker collected workers’ compensation benefits for an injury he sustained on the job. However, he decided to enhance his benefits by submitting fraudulent receipts for taxi fares to and from alleged doctor appointments for which he was reimbursed $1,153. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau found the receipts to be forgeries.
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MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON NO-FAULT FRAUD IN NEW YORK CITY AREA
53 Indicted, 29 Arrested on 11/16; More Arrests Imminent.
Charged with mail fraud and insurance fraud.
In what is being called the biggest-ever crackdown on no-fault auto insurance fraud in the New York City Area, 53 defendants have been charged for their participation in a scheme that purposely staged at least 27 auto accidents in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Hempstead, Long Island since 1996. According to the criminal complaint, owners and managers of medical clinics paid "runners" to recruit drivers to cause accidents and others who agreed to be passengers. In 21 of the 27 staged accidents, these drivers allegedly targeted vulnerable drivers such as women alone, women with children and the elderly as their innocent victims. The other six accidents involved cars owned or insured by members of the ring who hit each other. The recruiters would then send the drivers who had initiated the accidents and their passengers to the medical clinics owned and managed by the individuals who had hired the recruiters in the first place. The passengers falsely claimed multiple injuries and sought payment for services that either were not necessary or were never provided. Of the 53 indicted, 29 have been arrested, including one ring member who acted as a passenger in an accident and sued himself under an alias as the owner of the auto used to cause the accident. This investigation is ongoing and more arrests are imminent. The indictment and subsequent arrests were the result of a multi-agency investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
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OVER THE LIMIT
General Contractor and Employee Arrested 11/7/00.
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree.
- A Ballston Lake resident allegedly put more than 50,000 miles over the legal limit on his leased car over a two-year period. Excess mileage on a leased vehicle can be extremely costly. The defendant is charged with arranging with one of his employees have the car "stolen." He subsequently reported to his insurer and the NYPD that he had last seen the car on 10/7/00 at his job site on Staten Island. However, as the result of an investigation, the Frauds Bureau and the New York State Police took possession of the car on 10/4/00, three days before the lessee claimed he had last seen it. He was arrested on 11/7/00.
- The employee who arranged the theft was also arrested for his part in the scheme.
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NO FUN IN THE SUN
Onondaga County Man Arrested on 11/3/00.
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and workers’ compensation fraud.
A laborer from upstate New York is accused of collecting workers’ compensation benefits while he was gainfully employed in Florida. He submitted written documents to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board falsely stating that he was not working. An investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund resulted in an arrest warrant. The defendant turned himself in to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office on 11/3/00.
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SEE YOU IN COURT
Three Broome County Men Arrested on 11/2/00.
Charged with committing a fraudulent practice under Section 114(1) of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law.
Three men were arrested by the Broome County Sheriff’s Office on 11/2/00 in connection with separate workers’ compensation fraud cases. The investigations of these cases were conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau and the Broome County Sheriff’s Office.
- One, a Binghamton man, is accused of fraudulently collecting $11,643 in workers’ compensation benefits from June 1999 to September 2000;
- Another, from Johnson City, is charged with collecting $11,537 from May 1999 to August 2000 in workers’ compensation benefits to which he was not entitled; and
- The third, a resident of Vestal, allegedly collected $5,507 from June 1998 to September 2000.
