Arrests for November 2006
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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- SENTENCED
On 11/27/05 Peter Mravlja, a volunteer firefighter from Decatur, NY, was sentenced following a guilty plea on 10/20/06 to a charge of felony insurance fraud in connection with a fire at the dairy farm he co-owned with his father. He will repay the family's insurer $50,000, serve five years of felony probation and perform 1,000 hours of community service over the next five years in the five mutual aid volunteer fire departments that fought the fire. He was also ordered to sell all his firearms. Based on a confidential tip, the Frauds Bureau, the Otsego County DA's Office and the State Fire Administrator initiated the investigation that led to his arrest.
- GUILTY PLEA
Leo Coletti, a former State Correction Officer assigned to the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the 2nd degree and filing a false tax return under the New York State Tax Law. Coletti claimed a work-related knee injury in June 2000 and began collecting workers' compensation benefits. However, during a lengthy investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Westchester County DA's Office, the Workers' Compensation Board and the State Insurance Fund, evidence was uncovered that the suspect performed nearly $750,000 worth of home improvement construction work at various locations in the County, at the same time he was collecting more than $110,000 in benefits. Moreover, during numerous examinations under oath, he repeatedly denied any such activity. In addition, Coletti filed grossly understated tax returns to hide the additional earnings. He faces up to five years in state prison at his sentencing which is scheduled for 2/15/07.
- CHIROPRACTIC FRAUD
Arrested on 11/30/06
Charged with insurance fraud
Two partners in a Wall Street chiropractic practice were arrested on charges of billing insurers for services they did not provide and using the identical diagnoses for numerous patients. The indictment claims that one of the partners billed Oxford Health Plan $172,000 for 230 visits by the other partner and another 229 for the partner's wife in the same year. An investigation conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau and the FBI led to the arrests.
- AUTO ARSON
Arrested on 11/20/06
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
A Connecticut woman reported to the New Britain Police Department that her car had been stolen on 8/2/06 from a local street where she had left it parked. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD revealed that the car had been recovered by the FDNY destroyed by fire in the Bronx a half hour prior to her police report.
- "STOLEN" BENEFITS
Arrested on 11/16/06
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and violation of the Workers' Compensation Law
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund resulted in the arrest of a Long Island man suspected of collecting workers' compensation benefits while he was employed. As a result of the alleged fraud, from 6/12/98 to 3/6/06 he collected $1,275 to which he was not entitled.
- FALSE CERTIFICATION
Arrested on 11/16/06
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and violation of the Workers' Compensation Law
During the period from 3/29/98 to 3/4/06, the defendant in this case falsely certified that she was not employed when, in fact, she was. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund revealed that during the time in question, the State Insurance Fund paid out $43,260 in benefits based on her false statements.
- BALANCE DUE
Arrested on 11/16/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, grand larceny in the 3rd degree and violation of the Workers' Compensation Law
The president of a roofing company presented allegedly false information on an application for workers' compensation insurance, denying that he had any prior policy with the State Insurance Fund. However, during an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Fund, it came to light that, in fact, he had had a prior policy cancelled for nonpayment of premium with a balance of $6,300 due. In addition, he altered a Certificate of Insurance and submitted it to a contractor as proof of coverage that did not exist.
- ARIZONA ASSISTS
Arrested on 11/14/06
Charged with one felony count of misrepresentation and three felony counts of forgery
A Tucson, AZ, woman was charged with continuing to cash the workers' compensation checks issued to her stepfather for more than 13 months after his death. Those checks amounted to $6,480 in benefits during the period from 9/28/02 to 11/6/03. In addition, she certified to the New York State Insurance Fund on numerous occasions in her stepfather's name that he had not returned to work. Her arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund's Division of Confidential Investigations, with the assistance of the Pima County Sheriff's Office in Arizona.
- EARNING WHILE COLLECTING
Arrested on 11/9/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 2nd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and committing a fraudulent practice under Section 114.1 of the Workers' Compensation Law
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the State Police and the State Insurance Fund led to the arrest of a North Syracuse man at a construction site at which he was working. Evidence found that the suspect had been classified as permanently totally disability in October 1989 following an injury sustained on the job and was receiving $252 a week in lost-wages benefits. From that time until his arrest, he submitted written statements to the State Fund claiming he had not returned to work in any capacity. However, the suspect had been working full time as a contractor's laborer/painter at various locations throughout the Central New York area, while collecting more than $53,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
- NO ACCIDENT
Arrested on 10/30/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and attempted grand larceny in the 4th degree
On 3/12/06, the defendant in this case reported to a local hospital in Lewiston, NY, with injuries to her nose and face. She placed a call from the hospital to the Lewiston Police Department to report that her injuries were the result of an altercation earlier that evening. After an investigation during which statements were taken, the police arrested a suspect on charges of assaulting the defendant. However, further investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Niagara County DA's Office revealed that on 3/27/06 the defendant had filed a $1,670 claim with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company under the no-fault portion of her auto insurance coverage, stating that the injuries were sustained in an auto accident. When investigators interviewed the defendant, she confessed that she received the injuries in an altercation, just as she had originally told the Lewiston Police Department.
- FRAUDLENT DOCUMENTS
Arrested on 10/16/06
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd and 3rd degrees
An investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD's Fraudulent Document Squad led to the arrest of a Philadelphia man on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was charged with possession of fraudulent Pennsylvania motor vehicle documents and a counterfeit insurance identification card.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENTS
OCTOBER 2006
