Arrests for May 2001
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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- CRIME & PUNISHMENT
A licensed practical nurse from Rochester was sentenced to five years probation and payment of more than $67,000 to a health insurer she defrauded from February 1993 to September 1996. During the period, the insurer paid out over $166,000 in claims, of which more than $89,000 involved false information and inaccurate billing facts. Her arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Rochester Police Department and the defrauded insurer. The subject pled guilty on 10/3/00 to a charge of grand larceny in the 3rd degree.
- PIPE FITTER FIT TO WORK
Arrested on 5/31/01
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, forgery and insurance fraud
The defendant in this case is accused of receiving workers’ compensation benefits of nearly $11,000 to which he was not entitled from February to October 2000. He signed affidavits claiming he was not able to work. However, during the same period, he earned more than $40,000 working as a pipe fitter. The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund.
- SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW
Arrested on 5/23/01
Charged with workers’ compensation fraud, employee insurance fraud and fraudulent claim fraud
- An arrest sweep in Nassau County captured seven suspects charged with various counts of insurance fraud. The operation was a cooperative effort by the Frauds Bureau, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the State Insurance Fund and the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Inspector General. Those arrested included the following:
- A Wyandanch woman is accused of collecting $14,300 in workers’ compensation while working off the books for $500 a week.
- An East Meadow resident is charged with collecting more than $2,600 while she was employed as an ice skating instructor.
- A Wantagh man received a payment of $7,300
for a work-related injury in 1994. In December 1999, hE resigned
his position, stating his 1994 injury forced him to retire. In
February 2000, he submitted a claim to the Workers’ Compensation
Board and it was agreed that he would receive a lump-sum payment
of $46,000. However, before the money was paid, an investigation
by the State Insurance Fund revealed that this suspect continued
to work for the same company from which he had "retired."
The company had been bought out by, and was operating under the
name of, a different company.
The above three defendants gave sworn testimony that they were not employed.
- According to charges, a former life insurance agent from Bethpage, after leaving employment on disability following heart surgery in 1993, allegedly continued to sell new policies, processing them through a fellow agent. In all, 49 policies based on fraudulent applications were sold, from which the suspect collected thousands of dollars in unearned commissions. In addition, he stole in excess of $34,000 by improperly collecting dividends and policy loans that should have been paid to policyholders.
- While employed as an insurance company claims representative, this Middle Island resident is accused of stealing more than $22,000 from her employer over a period of more than six years. She allegedly used the money to pay credit card bills and other expenses and also issued company checks payable to her husband. Similar accusations made by a second former insurance company employer have been referred to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
- A Staten Island woman filed a $6,000 insurance claim alleging that a laptop computer and other expensive items had been stolen from her leased car which was found burned in July 2000. An investigation revealed that a number of the receipts she submitted for the stolen items were fraudulent.
- NO COVERAGE FOR CONTRACTOR
Arrested on 5/23/01
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument
A self-employed contractor from Long Island is charged with presenting forged certificates of insurance on three occasions to indicate he had workers’ compensation insurance coverage when in fact he had none. He submitted the certificates to a general contractor in order to obtain work on various projects without securing the appropriate insurance. The investigation was conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
- NURSE WELL ENOUGH TO WORK
Arrested on 5/22/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and grand larceny in the 3rd degree
Following an auto accident in November 1998, this suspect began receiving no-fault lost wages benefits. However, in February 2000 she resumed full-time work as a nurse but continued to collect benefits until her benefit period expired in May 2000. During the February-May period, she received almost $5,400 to which she was not entitled. The investigation that led to her arrest was conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
- STATEWIDE SWEEP CLEANS UP
Arrested on 5/17/01
Charged with auto-related fraud, workers’ compensation fraud, stolen property and various other crimes of insurance fraud
- More than 40 suspects were arrested on May 17 in the first statewide sweep ever conducted by the Frauds Bureau. In the downstate area, Frauds Bureau investigators assisted with the execution of search warrants at 11 auto body shops which netted more than 20 arrests for auto-related fraud in Kings, Queens, Nassau and Richmond Counties. This investigation was conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD.
- Among those arrested in the downstate sweep were 18 individuals who allegedly routinely stole vehicles, dismantled them and sold the parts to customers. In some cases, the used parts were sold as new to unsuspecting customers. The auto shops involved face a fine of up to twice the amount of their illegal gain.
- At the same time, Frauds Bureau investigators conducted sweeps in Syracuse and other upstate areas that resulted in the arrest of 21 individuals for workers' compensation, no-fault and various other types of insurance fraud. The Frauds Bureau, the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, the State Insurance Fund, the New York State Police, the Syracuse Police Department and the Workers’ Compensation Inspector General’s Office participated in the sweeps.
- The majority of those arrested during the upstate sweeps were charged with workers’ compensation fraud for systematically defrauding the insurance system by collecting benefits to which they were not entitled, fraudulently representing they were eligible for insurance coverage when they were not, and/or fraudulently representing that they had obtained insurance when in fact they had not.
- FRAUDULENT CLAIM SHOT DOWN
Arrested on 5/15/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department led to the arrest of an upstate logger in connection with a suspected fraudulent vandalism claim. The suspect filed a claim for damages alleging that his tractor had been shot up by someone unknown to him. However, the investigation revealed that the suspect himself shot up the tractor in order to collect the insurance proceeds.
- A MATTER OF MILES
Arrested on 5/15/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
As a result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and an insurance company Special Investigations Unit, a real estate developer was arrested and charged with submitting claims for mileage reimbursement in connection with his workers’ compensation claim which exceeded his actual mileage. As a result, his insurer overpaid him more than $4,600.
- TWO FOR ONE
Arrested on 5/15/01
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the NYPD and Country-Wide Insurance Company’s Special Investigations Unit led to the arrest of two Queens men for their part in an insurance fraud scheme.
Charged with insurance fraud, criminal possession of a forged instrument and attempted grand larceny
- The charges is this case allege that this defendant, acting in concert with another man who was also arrested, obtained a New York State driver’s license using a false Florida driver’s license. The two are further accused of securing an auto insurance policy based on the false information they submitted and then staging an auto accident in order to collect no-fault benefits.
Charged with offering a false instrument for filing and criminal possession of a forged instrument
- This defendant is the second party named in the charges involved in the crime described above.
- BRIBERY > OVERBILLING > ARREST
Arrested on 5/15/01
Charged with commercial bribing in the 1st and 2nd degrees and grand larceny in the 3rd degree
A former owner of a building repair business was arrested and charged with paying a series of bribes to an adjuster for MetLife Insurance Company in exchange for being assigned repair jobs by the adjuster. This defendant is also accused of over billing MetLife $15,000 on a home repair job in which the customer had submitted a claim for water damage. The defendant’s company performed roof repairs valued at about $7,000 but billed MetLife an additional $15,000 for interior repairs that were not completed. The investigation was conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the New York State Police and MetLife.
- TIME TO PAY UP
Arrested on 5/8/01
Charged with violation of Section 114 of the Workers’ Compensation Law
The two defendants in this case are accused of submitting fraudulent documents to the State Insurance Fund falsely describing the nature of their business. As a result, during the period from October 1997 to April 1999, the couple allegedly paid $28,000 less in workers’ compensation insurance premiums than they should have paid for adequate coverage as required by law. The arrest came as the result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
- GOLDBRICK III COUNTS 17 ARRESTS
Arrested on 4/30-5/3/01
Charged with various types of workers’ compensation fraud
Seventeen individuals were arrested over a period of several days and charged with systematically defrauding the workers’ compensation system by collecting benefits to which they were not entitled, fraudulently representing that they were eligible for insurance coverage when in fact they were not, and/or falsely representing that they had secured appropriate coverage when they had not. The Frauds Bureau, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the State Insurance Fund conducted the investigation that resulted in the arrests.
Some of those arrested were the following:
- A Bayshore man collected $21,000 in benefits and attempted to collect an additional $54,600. Allegedly he was not entitled to any of these payments.
- A Brooklyn man is charged with submitting a fraudulent certificate of insurance maintaining he had obtained proper workers’ compensation and other coverages when he had not.
- A Rocky Point couple is accused with knowingly submitting a fraudulent workers’ compensation claim in order to receive benefits under coverage that they were not eligible for.
- LIEN ON ME
Arrested on 5/3/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and grand larceny in the 3rd degree
The suspect in this case is accused of submitting false documentation to an insurer indicating that the lien on his stolen construction equipment had been satisfied. Based on the misrepresentation, the insurer issued a check for the value of the equipment directly to the suspect who allegedly cashed the check but did not reimburse the lien holder. The investigation was conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
- LIAR, LIAR, CAR ON FIRE
Arrested on 5/3/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the New York State Police led to the arrest of a Buffalo aircraft mechanic for perpetrating an auto fraud scheme. The defendant submitted a claim to his insurer stating that while he was driving his car on 4/4/01, it developed mechanical trouble. He maintained that he parked the car and when he returned he discovered the car’s interior had been burned. The defendant later admitted that he actually set the car fire.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENT
March 2001
- ALL FIRED UP
Arrested on 3/30/01
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau in conjunction with the Yorktown Police Department led to the arrest of two accomplices in a stolen car scam.
Charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the 3rd degree
- This defendant, acting in concert with another man who was also arrested, is accused of being in possession of an auto that had been reported stolen. It is alleged that the two defendants subsequently set the car on fire.
Charged with arson in the 3rd degree
- This defendant is the second party named in the charges involved in the crime described above.
