Arrests for December 2007
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
Hung Tran, a Rochester resident, was sentenced on 12/4/07 to serve five years’ probation and 120 hours of community service, following a guilty plea in August to charges of insurance fraud and attempted grand larceny. In September 2006, Tran reported to the Rochester Police Department that his 1998 Ford Expedition had been stolen from his home. He filed a claim with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company stating that about $20,000 in electronic/video accessories was installed in the vehicle at the time of the theft. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Rochester Police Department’s Investigative Services Unit and Liberty Mutual’s SIU revealed that Tran had given his car to his bookmaker and then reported it stolen in an attempt to collect insurance money. He was arrested on 6/28/07.
On 12/3/07, Penny Lanza, a Geneva, NY, clerical worker, pleaded guilty to two counts of insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and was sentenced to one year conditional discharge. She was arrested on 3/6/07 following an investigation by the Frauds Bureau. Lanza filed a claim with Wayne Cooperative Insurance Company in support of her initial report that on or about 7/11/05, someone broke into her summer residence and stole $23,560 worth of musical instruments. The claim included an inventory of the purportedly stolen instruments which she stated she had purchased in cash from a local music shop over a seven-month period prior to the loss. The instruments were kept at her home so that her boyfriend’s son and his band could practice there. However, investigators obtained a signed statement from the owner of the music shop to the effect that he had not sold any instruments to Lanza. In fact, the owner had never carried some of the inventoried instruments at his shop.
- BACK TO WORK
Arrested on 12/24/07
Chargedwith offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree, insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and fraudulent practices under Section 114 of the Workers’ Compensation Law
The suspect in this case suffered neck and back injuries on 5/9/03 while she was working as a home health aide. She was subsequently classified as permanently partially disabled and began collecting workers’ compensation benefits. On 12/11/06, she reported to the State Insurance Fund that she had returned to work as a home companion two-to-three hours a week. On three separate occasions between December 2006 and October 2007, she completed forms reaffirming her work status. However, surveillance conducted during an investigation indicated that the suspect was working five-to-six hours a day, five days a week. As a result, she collected more than $10,500 in benefits to which she was not entitled. The investigation that led to her arrest was conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau, the State Fund and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General.
- NOT ENTITLED
Arrested on 12/23/07
Chargedwith insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and fraudulent practices under Section 114(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Law
This suspect incurred on-the-job neck and back injuries on 2/16/91 while working at a psychiatric center in Syracuse. He was awarded workers’ compensation benefits after receiving a permanent partial disability determination. Investigators from the Frauds Bureau, the State Insurance Fund and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General discovered that he had returned to work at a bottle redemption center when his wife bought the business in 2000. However, he continued to collect benefits totaling nearly $14,400 until the time of his arrest.
- ON THE JOB
Arrested on 12/22/07
Chargedwith insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and fraudulent practices under Section 114(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Law
During the years 2003 to 2007, the defendant in this case collected wage loss benefits following a determination that he was permanently partially disabled. On numerous occasions during those years he sent Work Activity Reports to the State Insurance Fund stating that he had not returned to work in any capacity since his work-related injury occurred in 1990. An investigation initiated by the Frauds Bureau and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General uncovered evidence that he was earning money as a self-employed boat mechanic while collecting $22,540 to which he was not entitled.
- TAXI DRIVER
Arrested on 12/21/07
Chargedwith offering a false instrument for filing, fraudulent practices under Section 114(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Law, insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and perjury in the 1st degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the State Insurance Fund and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General resulted in the arrest of a Utica man charged with collecting benefits while he was employed. The suspect filed for workers’ compensation benefits after an on-the-job toe injury sustained on 8/2/06 prevented him from continuing his job as a truck driver. On several occasions, he sent signed statements to the State Fund declaring that he was unable to drive the truck or to engage in any other work. In addition, in March and May of 2007, the suspect gave sworn testimony at workers’ compensation hearings that he had not returned to work.
However, investigators found indications that the suspect had taken a job driving a taxi on 9/4/06 and had worked at that job through 11/5/07. During that time, he received $10,113 to which he was not entitled. - NO BENEFITS DUE
Arrested on 12/20/07
Chargedwith insurance fraud
Following a work-related injury in 2005, the defendant in this case began collecting wage loss benefits. During the years from 2005 until December 2007, he provided the State Insurance Fund with Work Activity Reports stating he had not returned to work in any capacity since his injury. A joint investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund revealed that the suspect was working at a painting company while collecting nearly $8,500 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
- MISREPRESENTATION
Arrested on 12/20/07
Chargedwith insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and violation of Section 114(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Law
This suspect was classified as permanently totally disabled after he sustained an injury on the job in 2000 and began collecting wage loss benefits. On several occasions, he submitted Work Activity Reports to the State Insurance Fund stating that he was not employed in any capacity. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Fund uncovered evidence that he was employed at a Syracuse bakery from April 2006 to November 2007, during which time he illegally collected over $17,400 in benefits.
- ARSON
Arrested on 12/19/07
Chargedwith arson in the 4th degree and insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau resulted in the arrest of the defendant in this case on charges of arson and insurance fraud. The investigation revealed that she set fire to her 2000 sport utility vehicle, valued at $9,100, and then filed a claim with Nationwide Insurance Company for the loss.
- FAILURE TO SUBMIT
Arrested on 12/18/07
Chargedwith perjury in the 1st degree, insurance fraud in the 4th degree and violation of Section 114(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Law
This suspect was classified as permanently partially disabled in 1998 as a result of an injury incurred on the job and filed for wage loss benefits. While she was collecting benefits, she failed to complete and return numerous Work Activity Reports mailed to her home by the State Insurance Fund in an effort to confirm her employment status. Moreover, on 5/16/07, she testified at a workers’ compensation hearing that she had not returned to work in any capacity. However, a joint investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the State Fund and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General found evidence that she was gainfully employed from October 2005 to March 2006, while collecting $1,034 in wage loss benefits.
- FORGED APPLICATION
Arrested on 12/17/07
Chargedwith criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd degree
The owner of a tree service business was accused of presenting a forged contractor application to a customer as proof of liability insurance coverage. But Frauds Bureau investigators conducted an undercover operation posing as potential customers and gathered evidence that the suspect’s business had no such coverage.
- NO COVERAGE
Arrested on 12/14/07
Chargedwith insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Police in Liberty, NY, led to the arrest of this suspect for allegedly altering a medical report stemming from an auto accident she was involved in. Following the accident, she was taken to a local hospital and treated. However, investigators discovered that the medical report stated that she had been drinking at the time of the accident. She used white-out to cover all references to alcohol in the report and submitted it in support of a claim she filed with New York Central Mutual Insurance Company in an effort to have $45,000 in medical bills paid under her no-fault coverage.
- FALSE REPORTS
Arrested on 12/13/07
Chargedwith offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree, perjury in the 1st degree and insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
A laborer from upstate New York was charged with submitting statements to Zurich North America Insurance Company in support of his workers’ compensation claim saying that he was not employed. However, investigators from the Frauds Bureau and the Office of the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General gathered evidence indicating that he had in fact returned to work.
- SECRETARIAL WORK
Arrested on 12/12/07
Chargedwith perjury in the 1st degree, insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and a violation of Section 114 of the Workers’ Compensation Law
A Tompkins County woman was arrested for collecting nearly $6,300 in workers' compensation benefits while employed as a secretary in an Ithaca real estate office. According to Frauds Bureau investigators, the suspect was awarded permanent partial disability benefits in 2000 for an injury that occurred in 1993. Evidence suggests that she returned to work shortly after her injury, while claiming to the State Insurance Fund that she was unable to work. When informed of the evidence, both the secretary and the owner of the real estate business gave testimony under oath at a workers' compensation hearing that no employer/employee relationship existed. The business owner was subsequently arrested on 1/18/08 for his role in the fraud scheme.
- SUFFOLK STING
Arrested in 12/07
Chargedwith grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud
Twenty-six suspects were arrested as a result of a sting operation targeting car thieves on Long Island and in the New York Metropolitan Area. In addition, 92 vehicles with a Blue Book value of more than $1 million were recovered. Several of the cases involved owners who “gave up” their cars for the insurance settlement. In another case, an auto mechanic made duplicate keys in order to steal the cars. Undercover detectives operated a garage where they purchased the stolen cars, trucks and motorcycles from thieves for five percent to ten percent of their Blue Book value. The sting was the result of a joint investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Suffolk County DA’s Office Insurance Crime Bureau, the Suffolk County Police Department’s Vehicle Theft Section, the State Police and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENT
NOVEMBER 2007
- GUILTY PLEA
A former Glens Falls insurance broker pleaded guilty on 11/28/07 to felony insurance fraud after admitting she victimized 36 families, her employer and 18 insurers by stealing $9,576 in insurance premiums. Under a plea agreement, she is responsible for making complete restitution. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Saratoga County DA’s Office and the DMV led to her arrest. The investigation was initiated when the agency at which the broker was employed reported to police that it had received numerous complaints from customers who said their auto insurance policies had been cancelled even though they had paid their premiums.
