How Are We Doing?
Some Current Statistics

Arrests and Convictions: 1998 – 2000

• Arrests resulting from Frauds Bureau investigations, at 503, hit an all-time high in the year 2000, surpassing lest year’s performance by nearly 30%.

• Success in several major cases contributed to the significant year-to-year increase in the number of arrests. Early in the year, 52 individuals, including the son-in-law of John Gotti and several other members of organized crime, were charged with operating an auto crime ring in Queens. An offshoot of this investigation led to the arrest in May of 22 individuals on similar charges. In a major crackdown on no-fault fraud in November, 53 defendants were charged with participation in a scheme that purposely staged at least 27 auto accidents in the New York City area. In addition, a number of workers’ compensation fraud sweeps, both upstate and downstate, were carried out by the Frauds Bureau, the Workers’ Compensation Inspector General, the State Insurance Fund and local law enforcement agencies.

• The number of criminal convictions obtained by prosecutors in Frauds Bureau cases also set a record in 2000, reaching 318 and far outpacing last year’s total of 194. At the direction of the Executive Bureau, the Frauds Bureau has met with district attorneys in each of the State’s 62 counties. Our year-end statistics reflect this statewide approach which has led to a greater degree of communication and cooperation with prosecutors across the State.

• The number of reports of suspected insurance fraud increased to 22, 247 during 2000, following two years of decline. The Bureau’s Electronic Fraud Reporting System was opened to the entire industry in March 2000, allowing insurers to submit their fraud reports online. The system contains a valuable cross-reference feature that provides insurers with information on all other reports that share information, such as name and/or address of the suspect and other matching data.