Arrests for July 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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- GUILTY!
A Lewiston, NY resident was found guilty of insurance fraud in the 2nd and 3rd degrees and scheming to defraud in the 1st degree in a Niagara County Court on 7/9/01. The defendant was charged with filing false or inflated claims for damage to his home from winter storms over a four-year period that stretched from January 1996 to November 1999. He was charged with fraudulently collecting $198,000 in homeowners insurance benefits. However, the Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted the case said that evidence at the trial indicated the actual amount may have been close to $260,000. A joint investigation conducted over 18 months by the Frauds Bureau and the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office led to the arrest in December 2000. The defendant faces up to 22 years in prison.
- HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER
Arrested on 7/31/01
Charged with forgery in the 2nd degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
A life insurance company district manager is accused of forging his brother’s name on an application for disability insurance. His brother was reportedly injured in a work-related accident in California. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department led to the arrest.
- MILES TO GO
Arrested on 7/25/01
Charged with grand larceny in the 4th degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
This defendant allegedly submitted documents to his insurer in which he inflated the mileage traveled for medical appointments. As a result, he was reimbursed more than $1,000 to which he was not entitled. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Kirkland Police Department led to his arrest.
- GOTCHA [UN]COVERED
Arrested on 7/25/01
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument
An investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office led to the arrest of a building contractor from Carmel, NY. This defendant is accused of presenting a fraudulent certificate of insurance indicating that he had general liability and workers’ compensation insurance coverage when in fact he did not.
- LICENSE REQUIRED
Indicted on 7/25/01
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd and 4th degrees, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd degree, forgery in the 2nd degree, scheming to defraud in the 1st degree and petit larceny
The indictment charges that the defendant in this case, acting as an insurance broker without a license, collected premium payments from clients but failed to remit them to the appropriate insurers. In addition, he allegedly issued a fraudulent insurance identification card with intent to defraud. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Westchester District Attorney’s Office resulted in his arrest.
- THIS IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Arrested on 7/18/01
Charged with grand larceny in the 4th degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department resulted in the arrest of a New Lisbon woman accused of using stolen credit cards for personal purchases. While working as a customer service representative at a telecommunications company in Utica, the defendant obtained customer credit card numbers which she then used to purchase auto insurance for her two cars. She also made a number of purchases through a home shopping network with the stolen cards.
- DECEIPT IN ORDER TO DEFRAUD
Arrested on 7/9/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the 2nd degree
The defendant in this case is accused of falsely reporting to the NYPD that his car had been stolen and subsequently filing a fraudulent claim with his insurer. His arrest was the result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD Auto Crime Division.
- STAGED ACCIDENTS
Arrested on 7/5/01
Charged with mail fraud and medical fraud
An unemployed Brooklyn man was arrested and charged on a fugitive warrant with conspiring with others, who were previously arrested, to stage auto accidents in an attempt to defraud a number of insurance companies of medical benefits.
- STUDENT SHENANIGANS
Arrested 7/3/01
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd and 5th degrees and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
An investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD Special Frauds Squad led to the arrest of a Brooklyn high school student accused of falsely claiming he was a passenger in a car involved in an auto accident. He allegedly filed an insurance claim stating he had sustained injuries and received medical treatment.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENT
June 2001
- LARCENOUS LANDLORD
Arrested 6/10/01
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree
The Frauds Bureau and the Suffolk County Police Department assisted the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of a Long Island man who is accused of fraudulently receiving $4,100 in federal Housing and Urban Development funding. The investigation revealed that a man the defendant knew applied for federal funding through a HUD rental assistance program and subsequently became a "tenant" in a house owned by the defendant. However, investigators discovered that the so-called tenant never made the house his residence (a violation of the rental assistance program rules), while the defendant fraudulently collected $4,100 in rent checks administered by the Otsego Rural Housing Assistance program. The tenant has stated that he did not get any money from the defendant and no charges have been brought against him. However, the investigation is continuing.
