Arrests for March 2010
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 3/11/10, Marsha Doyle of Wayne County received an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal sentence and was ordered to pay $9,126 in restitution. She was arrested in September 2009 after admitting that from 9/07 to 6/08, she collected workers compensation benefits while being paid by her uncle to care for the homebound spouse of a family friend.
Eagle River Inc., a Colonie-based trucking company that pleaded guilty on 2/17/10 to underreporting its payroll by $2.2 million over a three-year period to avoid paying adequate workers compensation premiums, was sentenced on 3/5/10 to make $315,600 in restitution to the State Insurance Fund. The company has already paid $150,000 in restitution and has agreed to pay the balance over the next three years. The discrepancy was discovered during an audit of the companys records by investigators from the Frauds Bureau and the State Fund.
Alice Jean-Michel of New York City was sentenced on 3/5/10 to pay $36,000 in restitution and serve five years probation for collecting workers compensation benefits while she was employed as a home health aide. She had earlier pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and violation of the Workers Compensation Law.
On 3/1/10, Jeffrey Alnutt was sentenced to 5-to-15 years in prison, his daughter, Aubrey Alnutt-Pagan to 1-to-3 years and her husband to 1 1/3-to-4 years for their part in a 2004 fire at an apartment building owned by Jeffrey Alnutt in which his daughter and son-in-law lived. The jury convicted them of conspiring to set fire to the home in order to collect the insurance payment. They were paid $210,000 on an insurance claim they filed for the loss. Jeffrey Alnutt also faces arson and murder charges in connection with a fatal fire in December 2007 at another property he owns. He is currently incarcerated in Schoharie Correctional Facility following conviction on a weapons possession charge.
A former Broome County resident, Veronica McClendon, was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge and restitution of $36,000 for collecting workers compensation benefits over a five-year period while she was employed in Virginia. She voluntarily returned to New York to resolve the case and was sentenced on 3/1/10.
- OWNER GIVE-UP
Arrested on 3/30/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree
On 12/29/09, the Rochester Fire Department responded to a vehicles fire on a local street. They found the defendant in this case, with minor burn injuries to his arms, standing next to the vehicle. He gave investigators various accounts about what had happened. He subsequently filed a $1,284 claim with Hanover Insurance Company for the loss. However, arson investigators ruled that the fire was incendiary and that gasoline was the accelerant. A gas can was recovered from the back seat of the defendants car. During an interview, the defendant gave yet another account about the cause of the fire and refused to give a written statement. The Frauds Bureau and the Monroe County Sheriffs Office conducted the investigation that led to his arrest.
- FAILURE TO DISCLOSE
Arrested on 3/29/10
Charged with violation of the Workers Compensation Law
The defendant in this case was charged with submitting to the State Insurance Fund documents in support of his application for workers compensation insurance that he allegedly knew contained materially false information. An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Fund revealed that he failed to disclose accurate sales and payroll information for his business in order to reduce his insurance costs. The fraud resulted in $27,000 in lost premiums to the State Fund.
- NOT HELPFUL
Arrested on 3/26/10
Charged with falsifying business records in the 1st degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau was initiated when New York Central Mutual Insurance Company notified the Bureau of a suspicious homeowners insurance claim. Investigators discovered that the defendant was helping her brother to file a claim for water damage at his home. While he was out of town, she allegedly altered an invoice for repair of the damage increasing the cost from $1,500 to $4,500 and submitted it in an attempt to defraud the insurer of $3,000.
- DAMAGED GOODS
Arrested on 3/25/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and grand larceny in the 4th degree
In January 2010, the defendant in this case reported to the Yates County Sheriffs Office that a person unknown to him caused damage to his boat while it was parked on his property. He subsequently submitted a $3,000 claim to Preferred Mutual Insurance Company for the loss. On the claim, he changed his story, stating that the damage was caused when a tree branch fell on the boat during a windstorm. The insurer paid out $2,497 on the claim. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Sheriffs Office revealed that the boat was already damaged when he purchased it.
- IDENTITY THEFT
Arrested on 3/24/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, identity theft in the 1st degree, perjury in the 1st degree and violation of Section 114 of the Workers Compensation Law
Following a back injury incurred while employed as a housekeeper at a senior citizens residence, a Kingston woman began collecting workers compensation benefits. However, she accepted the benefits while continuing to work at what had been her second job at a fast food restaurant. She testified at a workers compensation hearing in 2008 that she was no longer working. However, some time after the hearing, her former employer noticed her working in another fast food restaurant in the area where, investigators discovered, she had been working for two years using the name of a distant relative, as well as a fictitious address and Social Security number. As a result of the fraud, she collected $34,900 in benefits to which she was not entitled. The Frauds Bureau pooled resources with the Town of Ulster Police Department on this case.
- UNINSURABLE INTEREST
Arrested on 3/23/10
Charged with grand larceny in the 4th degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau led to the arrest of a Buffalo man accused of purchasing an Allstate homeowners insurance policy on a home in which he had no insurable interest, without the knowledge of the homeowner. He provided Allstate with a fictitious bank account number for payment of the premium. He then filed a claim for damage to a garage door on the property. Allstate paid the claim and issued the defendant a check for $1,603. The defendant then contacted Allstate to complain that he never received the check and the insurer issued a second check. Investigators reported that no damage had ever occurred to the garage door. However, the defendant cashed both check at local stores.
- UNEARNED COMMISSIONS
Arrested on 3/23/10
Charged with grand larceny
A self-employed insurance agent was charged with allegedly entering fictitious names on 61 applications for Aflac insurance policies between 2006 and late 2008, submitting them to the company and collecting $5,000 in advance sales commissions. The applications were discovered to be fraudulent when the insurer never received premiums for any of the policies. The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau.
- ON THE JOB
Arrested on 3/23/10
Charged with grand larceny in the 2nd degree, offering a false instrument for filing and violation of Section 114 of the Workers Compensation Law
After suffering a work-related injury in 2005, the defendant in this case claimed to be disabled and began collecting workers compensation benefits. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Village of Horseheads Police Department revealed that he was employed as a carpenter in his home town while fraudulently collecting $28,832 in benefits.
- NO JOB, NO WAGES
Arrested on 3/22/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
A Schenectady man was arrested and charged with insurance fraud after an unsuccessful attempt to defraud Nationwide Insurance Company of $20,500. In March 2009, he submitted a no-fault claim for lost-wage benefits. In support of his claim, he included documentation stating that he was employed as a landscaper. But an investigation by the Frauds Bureau revealed that he was in fact unemployed at the time of his accident.
- ENHANCED PURCHASE PRICE
Arrested on 3/18/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
Following an auto accident, an upstate man filed a claim with Erie Insurance Company for damage to his car. In support of the claim, he submitted a receipt which purportedly was the bill of sale for the vehicle. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the insurer and the Oneida County DAs Office uncovered evidence indicating that the suspect altered the receipt, changing the purchase price of the car from $2,900 to $5,900.
- NO COVERAGE
Arrested on 3/18/10
Charged with violation of Section 114.1 of the Workers Compensation Law
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau resulted in the arrest of a Suffolk County roof installer for presenting allegedly fraudulent Certificates of Insurance to the State Insurance Fund as proof that he had workers compensation coverage as required by New York State Law. In fact, no such coverage existed. He was charged with defrauding the State Fund of $8,397 in premiums.
- 11 FALSE REPORTS
Arrested on 3/17/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and violation of Section 114 of the Workers Compensation Law
Following a shoulder injury at work on 9/2/08, the defendant in this case began collecting workers compensation benefits. Between 3/3/09 and 10/5/09, he submitted 11 Work Activity Reports stating that he was not employed. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau revealed that he allegedly returned to work on 2/16/09, thus collecting $18,319 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
- NO ASSISTANCE NECESSARY
Arrested on 3/11/10
Charged with grand larceny in the 3rd degree and violation of Section 114 of the Workers Compensation Law
The defendant in this case began collecting workers compensation benefits after suffering a back injury while working at a salt factory. On 2/26/09, he testified at a workers compensation hearing that he was physically unable to walk without assistance or even go grocery shopping. However, surveillance conducted between 6/23/08 and 10/30/08 showed him repairing a car and performing other activities without assistance. As a result, he fraudulently collected $3,850 in benefits.
- OWNER BURNS LANDMARK
Arrested on 3/11/10
Charged with arson in the 3rd degree, insurance fraud in the 2nd degree, grand larceny in the 2nd degree, falsifying business records in the 1st degree and reckless endangerment in the 1st degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the State Police and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control led to the arrest of the owner of a Cortland County landmark hotel and restaurant for allegedly setting fire to the property in the early morning hours of 8/28/07. No one was hurt in the fire. The suspect was paid $137,000 on an insurance claim he filed with Penn-Star Insurance Company. Investigators learned that the holder of a mortgage on the building was expected to bring foreclosure actions against the suspect two weeks before the fire. Moreover, two days before the fire, he allegedly removed NASCAR mementos that he owned and stored in the restaurant. Arson investigators used an accelerant detection canine to uncover evidence at the scene.
- PREVIOUSLY COVERED
Arrested on 3/11/10
Charged with violation of Section 114 of the Workers Compensation Law
An electrician from Upstate New York submitted an application for workers compensation coverage to the State Insurance Fund on which he answered No when asked if he had prior coverage with the State Fund. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Fund revealed that he had a policy on a previously owned company on which he owed $13,092 in premiums.
- FUND DEFRAUDED
Arrested on 3/11/10
Charged with violation of Section 114.1 of the Workers Compensation Law
In November 2009, a Long Island carpenter presented two Certificates of Insurance to the State Insurance Fund as proof that he had workers compensation coverage as required by New York State Law. However, investigators from the Frauds Bureau learned that he allegedly altered the Certificates in an effort to demonstrate that such coverage was in place. The fraud caused a loss of $4,056 in premiums to the State Fund.
- EXPLOSION HOAX
Arrested on 3/9/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and arson in the 3rd degree
A Schoharie County man claimed that he was thrown out of a bedroom window by the force of a propane explosion that set fire to his mobile home. Following the incident, he drove himself to a local hospital where he received emergency-room treatment for minor injuries. He subsequently filed an insurance claim and was paid $2,000 through his homeowners insurance policy. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control revealed that the mobile homes furnace did not explode and that the fire had been purposefully set. Investigators also learned that the suspects homeowners policy was scheduled to expire two days after the fire.
- FAKE CLAIMANTS
Arrested on 3/8/10
Charged with grand larceny in the 2nd degree, insurance fraud in the 3rd, 4th and 5th degrees and falsifying business records in the 1st degree
An investigation conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau, the Queens DAs Office and Progressive Insurance Companys SIU resulted in the arrest of a Staten Island man formerly employed as a senior claims specialist for Progressive for allegedly stealing more than $80,000 from the insurer. On 26 separate occasions between 11/1/06 and 12/31/08, he re-opened closed cases and added new fake claimants who were, in fact, his friends and relatives. He issued checks ranging from $975 to more than $8,000, with the money winding up in his pockets. He began working for Progressive in October 2002 but was terminated in January 2009 when the company discovered an unusual pattern of activity in the claims he was supervising. Progressive referred the matter to the Frauds Bureau.
- LOST CONTROL
Arrested on 3/5/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree
On 1/15/10, a Long Island man reported to Unitrin Insurance Company and the Suffolk County Police Department that a stolen car hit his 2004 Mercedes Benz while it was parked in front of his house. He subsequently filed a claim for the loss. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the Suffolk County DAs Office revealed that on 1/4/10, when the suspect lost control of the car, it skidded off the road and struck several trees. Since he had no collision coverage at the time, he allegedly falsely reported the cause of the damage in an attempt to have the insurer cover the cost of repairs.
- NAME REPLACED
Arrested on 3/4/10
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and falsifying business records in the 2nd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPDs Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad led to the arrest of a New York City man who allegedly altered a Police Accident Report by inserting his name in place of another persons name in order to receive no-fault benefits and file a bodily-injury lawsuit.
- SUSPECTS COOPERATE
Arrested on 3/2/10
Charged with arson in the 3rd degree, reckless endangerment in the 2nd degree, conspiracy in the 4th degree, criminal mischief in the 4th degree and attempted grand larceny in the 4th degree
In a case involving an owner give-up, one suspect was charged with contracting with another suspect, previously arrested, to burn his 2008 Nissan Sentra for $400 which he was to pay when GEICO Insurance Company paid his claim. The owner of the car cooperated in the investigation, resulting in the arrest of the second suspect, who also cooperated. The arrests were the result of an investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the FDNYs Fire Marshals.
- NO DEAL
Arrested on 3/2/10
Charged with arson in the 3rd degree, insurance fraud in the 3rd degree, reckless endangerment in the 2nd degree and falsely reporting an incident in the 3rd degree
An investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the FDNYs Fire Marshals resulted in the arrest of a former New York City resident now living in Florida. This suspect planned to trade in his 2004 Ford Explorer for a new car. However, when the dealer declined to accept the trade-in, he allegedly offered $800 to a friend to dispose of the car so he could collect the insurance payout.
