Arrests for July 2009
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
Joseph A. Gambino of Ulster County pleaded guilty on 7/23/09 to charges of insurance fraud and workers’ compensation fraud. He was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and five years’ probation. He was also ordered to pay $77,800 in restitution. Investigators videotaped Gambino engaged in such activities as moving furniture while collecting benefits and riding a motorcycle without the cane he appeared to lean heavily on during medical exams. Gambino was arrested on 12/3/08 following an investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the State Insurance Fund and the Workers’ Compensation Board’s Office of the Fraud Inspector General.
- HEAVY EQUIPMENT
Arrested on 7/30/09
Charged with insurance fraud and offering a false instrument for filing
Following a work-related injury, an Oneida County man began collecting lost-wage benefits. During the benefit period, he submitted documents claiming that his injury prevented him from working in any capacity. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund revealed that he was working as a heavy equipment operator while collecting $26,000 to which he was not entitled.
- NO STUDENT
Arrested on 7/29/09
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree, offering a false instrument for filing and criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd degree
When her husband died while collecting workers’ compensation benefits, his widow, the defendant in this case, was entitled to continue to collect his benefits. Her dependent daughter was also entitled to benefits up to age 23 if she was a full-time student. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Insurance Fund revealed that the daughter completed high school but did not enroll in college. However, the mother submitted fraudulent documents to the Fund stating that her daughter was attending college. As a result, she collected $4,410 to which she was not entitled.
- ENHANCED DAMAGE
Arrested on 7/22/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
The owner of a Staten Island auto body shop was charged with causing extensive damage to a vehicle that was brought into his shop for repair of minor damages. The Frauds Bureau and the NYPD conducted the investigation that led to his arrest.
- PHONY PRESCRIPTIONS
Arrested on 7/22/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
The defendant in this case was accused of presenting 25 fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances to numerous pharmacies in Suffolk County. The prescriptions were written on prescription pads that were stolen from a doctor’s office and written for patients who were unknown to the doctor. In addition, the defendant caused false claims to be made to insurance companies which paid the pharmacies for the medications. Her arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
- IMPOUNDED
Arrested on 7/20/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and filing a false written statement
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD led to the arrest of a Brooklyn man who reported his car stolen to the NYPD on 7/3/09, claiming that he had last seen the vehicle on 7/2/09. However, investigators found evidence that the car had been impounded by a towing company in Jersey City, N.J., on 6/30/09 where it was parked on private property without permission.
- FORGED DIAGNOSIS
Arrested on 7/20/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and forgery in the 2nd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Police brought about the arrest of a woman for her unsuccessful attempt to defraud Hartford Insurance Company of $2,246 in disability payments. The defendant admitted that she produced a letter on her home computer using the University of Rochester Medical Center logo, stating that she had been diagnosed with cancer and could not return to work. She forged a doctor’s signature and submitted the letter to Hartford in support of her claim. She told investigators that she lied about the diagnosis so that she could stay at home with her newborn child.
- ASSISTANCE TO STATE POLICE
Arrested on 7/17/09
Charged with falsifying business records in the 2nd degree
The defendant in this case reported to the Town of Rosendale Police Department that his dump truck had been stolen, knowing that the truck had been repossessed for nonpayment of his loan. The State Police received the case from the Rosendale PD and requested Frauds Bureau assistance to determine if a claim had been filed. The Bureau found that a claim for $26,000 had been submitted to State Farm Insurance Company with a recorded statement by the defendant alleging that the truck had been stolen. The Bureau secured a transcript and recording of the claim and turned them over to the State Police who executed the arrest.
- STOLEN ID
Arrested on 7/17/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, identity theft in the 2nd degree and forgery in the 2nd degree
A Livingston County woman was charged with using the social security number of her step-daughter to fraudulently collect lost-wage benefits from Erie Insurance Company. She claimed that she was unable to return to her job after sustaining injuries in an auto accident. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau uncovered evidence that she was unemployed at the time of the accident and the employment information she provided was actually that of her step-daughter.
- IDENTITY FRAUD
Arrested on 7/17/09
Charged with false written statement
A Queens man was arrested in a scheme involving identity fraud for the purpose of obtaining insurance to register vehicles for use in staged accidents. Four suspects have been arrested thus far in this case. An investigation conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD’s Identity Fraud Unit resulted in the arrests.
- NONEXISTENT B&B
Arrested on 7/16/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau resulted in the arrest of a self-employed mason for trying to defraud Kemper Insurance Company of $4,000. He was accused of submitting a fraudulent claim for expenses he allegedly incurred while his home was being repaired after smoke from a faulty furnace caused damage. However, investigators found that a receipt for living expenses the suspect submitted in support of his claim was phony and the bed and breakfast where he claimed to have stayed did not exist. The claim was never paid.
- BUSY DOC
Arrested on 7/10/09
Charged with health care fraud, mail fraud and criminal forfeiture
A Brooklyn doctor was indicted for billing numerous workers’ compensation insurers for services he did not provide. The indictment stated that the doctor sought reimbursement for more procedures than any one doctor could possibly perform in a single day. In addition, he referred patients for physical therapy to persons he knew were not licensed to perform such therapy. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau, the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Eastern District and the Workers’ Compensation Board’s Office of the Fraud Inspector General.
- TWO ARSON CASES PENDING
Arrested on 7/9/09
Charged with murder in the 2nd degree, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and two counts of arson
A Gloversville landlord was accused of setting a fire in an apartment building he owned in December 2008, killing one of his tenants. An 18-month investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Gloversville Police Department and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control included a laboratory analysis that identified a potential accelerant in a first-floor apartment where investigators believe the fire was started. The defendant has a second arson case pending against him in connection with a fire in another building he co-owned with his daughter and her husband who were tenants in the building. The indictment in that previous case charged that the three of them knowingly set fire to the property. They subsequently filed an insurance claim and were paid $210,000 for the loss. In that fire, investigators allege that cooking oil was left burning on the stove. The defendant is currently serving a 40-month federal sentence for possession of a firearm.
- CARS LENT OUT
Arrested on 7/9/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and falsely reporting an incident in the 3rd degree
On 5/28/09, the defendant in this case reported to the Troy Police Department that two cars were stolen – one she owned, the second was a rental. On 5/31, she reported the same information to State Farm Insurance Company. However, both vehicles were recovered by the Schenectady Police Department and turned over to the Albany Police Department because they were allegedly used in the commission of an abduction, an assault and narcotics crimes. During an interview with the Troy PD, the defendant admitted that she rented out one of the vehicles and let other persons use the other vehicle. She stated that she reported the cars stolen when she learned that they had been used for criminal purposes. The Frauds Bureau worked closely with the Troy PD in this investigation.
- ENHANCED DAMAGE 2
Arrested on 7/9/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and grand larceny in the 3rd degree
A tow truck driver, acting in concert with two others not yet apprehended, was charged with enhancing damages to a vehicle which had been brought in for repairs to the auto body shop where he was employed. The Frauds Bureau and the NYPD pooled resources in the investigation that led to his arrest.
- INCOMPLETE JOB
Arrested on 7/8/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and forgery in the 2nd degree
The defendant in this case filed a claim with Kemper Insurance Company for damage to the roof of his home caused by severe weather conditions. In support of the claim, he submitted an invoice indicating that he’d had the roof replaced at a cost of $3,159. However, during an investigation, the Frauds Bureau obtained a statement from the contractor who had worked on the roof, reporting that the replacement was never completed and the cost of the unfinished job was $1,450. When faced with the evidence, the defendant admitted that he had altered the invoice.
- OWNER GIVE-UP
Arrested on 7/2/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd and 4th degrees, larceny in the 3rd and 4th degrees and falsifying business records in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees
The defendant in this case reported to the NYPD and Allstate Insurance Company that her 2006 Chrysler 300 had been stolen on 4/20/09. However, investigators from the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD’s Auto Crime Division located a witness who stated that he had seen the car being stripped the day before the defendant reported it stolen.
- MORTGAGE & TITLE FRAUD
Arrested on 7/2/09
Charged with wire fraud
The owner and operator of several title insurance companies was arrested on charges that between 2006 and 2008 he stole more than $1.7 million from clients of those companies, including over $384,000 from a church in Queens. The suspect’s companies acted as settlement or escrow agents in real estate deals. They received large sums of money to pay mortgage recording fees, real estate taxes and other fees attendant to the purchase of commercial and residential properties. However, the suspect instead allegedly used the money collected to pay the operating expenses of his companies. As a result, several mortgages and deeds went unrecorded. The Frauds Bureau and the FBI conducted the investigation that led to his arrest.
- MORTGAGE & TITLE FRAUD + TAX EVASION
Arrested on 7/1/09
Charged with grand larceny in the 1st degree and repeated failure to file personal income and earning taxes
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Staten Island DA’s Office resulted in the arrest of a husband and wife for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from clients of the title insurance company they operated. They accepted payment for mortgage fees, mortgage taxes, customer fees, real property filing fees and escrow account funds and then allegedly misappropriated the funds for their own purposes. They have also been charged with failing to pay New York State personal income tax from 2002 through 2004.
- REPOSSESSED
Arrested on 7/1/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
An Endicott man reported his 2008 Chevy Impala stolen on 5/14/09 and filed an $18,000 claim with Farmers’ Insurance Company for the loss. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau found evidence that on the day he filed the claim, he was notified by the Endicott Police Department that the car had been repossessed for nonpayment of his loan. On 5/20/09, he submitted a “proof of loss” statement to the insurer and went to the towing company where the repossessed vehicle was stored to remove personal belongings.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENTS
June 2009
- SUSPICIOUS CAR FIRE
Arrested on 6/30/09
Charged with attempted grand larceny in the 3rd and 4th degrees, insurance fraud in the 3rd and 4th degrees, falsifying business records, falsely reporting an incident, false sworn statement and false written statement
This suspect reported to the NYPD at 4:11 p.m. on 1/30/09 that his 2003 Cadillac CTS had been stolen. He stated that he had last seen it on 1/30/09 when he parked it at 11:30 a.m. on a Bronx street. However, the Frauds Bureau learned that the FDNY had responded to a fire at 10:22 p.m. on 1/29/09 and found a vehicle with major fire damage and no active alarm. The vehicle was recovered and invoiced at 9:00 a.m. on 1/30/09 by members of the NYPD’s Bronx DA’s Squad and the recovery was reported to the Auto Crime Division. When Auto Crime ran the plate number of the burned car, it was identified as the 2003 Cadillac CTS that had been reported stolen by the suspect.
- ALTERED REPORT
Arrested on 6/23/09
Charged with insurance in the 5th degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD led to the arrest of a Brooklyn housewife who was charged with submitting an altered Police Accident Report to GEICO Insurance Company in an attempt to defer liability. The Report had erasures and was not signed by the police officer who responded to the accident scene.
- NO DISABILITY
Arrested on 6/18/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
On 6/18/09, the defendant in this case surrendered himself to the Brooklyn DA’s Office. He allegedly collected long-term disability benefits while gainfully employed. The Frauds Bureau conducted the investigation that led to his arrest.
- UNSUSPECTING DRIVERS
Arrested on 6/11/09
Charged with falsifying business records
A lengthy investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Queens DA’s Office, the FBI and the NYPD’s Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad, with the assistance of the National Insurance Crime Bureau and several insurance companies, led to the arrest of a Bronx man in connection with an auto fraud scheme that has thus far yielded 65 arrests, 63 of which were executed in 2008 and another earlier this year, on 2/3/09. The fraud ring targeted unsuspecting drivers, who, while backing out of a driveway or a parking lot, would be deliberately hit by a car full of passengers, all of whom were participants in the fraud. Occupants of the cars involved were then sent to the same upper Manhattan medical clinic whose operators were knowing participants in the scheme. In fact, these operators allegedly paid “runners” up to $2,500 for each person referred to the clinic. The “patients” were also paid. The scheme defrauded insurers of $1.6 million.
- FRAUDULENT INVOICES
Arrested on 6/1/09
Charged with insurance fraud in the 5th degree, falsifying business records in the 1st degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and perjury
The owner of a liquor store in Saratoga, NY, and an employee were charged with submitting false billing statements in an effort to collect an insurance payment. Following a break-in at the store in May 2008, the two men created a false company which they called T & M Cleaning. T & M then billed the liquor store a total of $450 for cleaning services. In a statement the store owner provided to investigators, the $450 charge was based on an estimate from a local cleaning company that purportedly would have charged $150 an hour for a similar clean-up job. However, during an investigation by the Frauds Bureau, a claims representative with Sterling Insurance Company informed investigators that the insurer would have paid $15 an hour for such nonprofessional services. Invoices provided to the insurer by the defendants for repayment were allegedly fraudulent.
May 2009
- FRAUDULENT MORTGAGE LOAN
Arrested on 5/27/09
Charged with arson in the 3rd degree, insurance fraud and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
A former physician, whose license was revoked in 2005, acquired a property in Saratoga, N.Y., from its former owners who were facing foreclosure. No money changed hands. Then, based on a fraudulent mortgage loan, the new owner insured the vacant building for $475,000. However, a month later, on April 30, 2009, the building – vacant, abandoned and without power – burned to the ground under suspicious circumstances. An investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the Town of Colonie Police and Fire Departments, the State Police, the Albany County DA’s Office, the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control and the Albany County fire coordinator found evidence that accelerants had been used inside and outside the building which laboratory tests confirmed. Investigators alleged that the owner acquired the building for the purpose of setting the fire to collect the insurance payout. He was arrested on 5/27/09.
