Wednesday, June 29, 2005

TWENTY-SIX CHARGED IN $500,000 WORKERS COMPENSATION AND INSURANCE FRAUD INVESTIGATION; ALLEGEDLY SUBMITTED FRAUDULENT APPLICATIONS OR CLAIMED UNABLE TO WORK WHEN ACTUALLY GAINFULLY EMPLOYED

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by New York State Insurance Department Superintendent Howard Mills and New York State Workers' Compensation Fraud Inspector General John H. Burgher Jr., today announced that twenty-six New York residents have been charged with defrauding the State Workers’ Compensation system and the New York State Insurance industry of over $500,000 over a 15-year period between 1990 and 2005 by either submitting false applications for insurance coverage or claiming they had been injured and unable to work when actually they were gainfully employed. Two of the twenty-six individuals charged include a chiropractor and a government employee.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendants are alleged to have cheated other workers and employers, as well, by making application for and collecting benefits to which they were not entitled. The Workers’ Compensation system was established for the protection and benefit of all working persons with legitimate needs. When any individual cheats the system and undermines its worthy purposes he or she will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Superintendent Howard Mills said, "These individuals were allegedly engaging in fraudulent activities that contribute to higher insurance premiums for all New Yorkers. The New York State Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau worked closely with the Queens District Attorney's Office in investigating these cases and we applaud today's news because insurance fraud is a pervasive crime that requires a sustained and collaborative statewide effort to combat."

Inspector General John H. Burgher Jr. said, "Workers' compensation fraud costs everyone in the long run in higher prices for goods and services. It is not a victimless crime. Governor Pataki has made it clear that fraud will not be tolerated and it is days like this that should impress upon anyone considering fraud that it is just not worth it."

Workers' Compensation Chairman David P. Wehner said, "New York State needs to remain an attractive place for people to live and own a business and we owe it to all New Yorkers to continue to wage this battle against fraud in a coordinated, cooperative way. This type inter-agency cooperation is exactly what we need to do in order to make it known that if you commit fraud you will be identified, arrested and prosecuted for your crimes."

The defendants have been variously charged with Grand Larceny in the Second and Third Degree, Insurance Fraud in the Second, Third and Fourth Degree, Criminal Possession Of A Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and Sections 114 and 96 of the Workers’ Compensation Law. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

District Attorney Brown said that the investigation began in October 2003 when insurance carriers including One Beacon Insurance and the New York State Insurance Fund contacted the New York State Insurance Department with allegations of insurance and workers’ compensation fraud and evidence of alleged wrongdoing by numerous individuals and referred the matter to the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau for prosecution.

Among the defendants are:

- Colleen O’Sullivan aka Colleen Kearney, 38, of Kingdom Associates at 16 Covert Avenue in New Hyde Park who is alleged to have defrauded the New York State Insurance Fund of $143,993 in premiums owed by filing multiple applications using different corporate names and listing various family members as officers of the different corporations while she asserted that she had never previously applied for or been insured by the New York State Insurance Fund.

- Anna Brown, 30, of 168-12 127th Street in Jamaica, Queens who is alleged to have stolen $81,663 by filing five different claims asserting that she had been disabled by a back injury that she said she had sustained on May 3, 2001 working as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service Jamaica Post office in Jamaica, Queens and thereafter receiving benefits between May 2001 and June 2005. Investigation revealed that the defendant actually had been gainfully employed for eight different employers since her injury earning an average 13.00 dollars per hour.

- Leonard Drebsky, 50, of 28-07 Astoria Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, a chiropractor at Astoria Bouleveard Chiropractic Clinic, is alleged to have stolen $671 by filing 18 insurance claims between March 10, 2004 and April 19, 2004 for office visits of a patient that no longer attended the doctor’s clinic for medical treatment.

- Mahandranauth Lildharry, 45, of 103-22 115 Street in Richmond Hill, Queens who is alleged to have stolen $84,740 by filing three separate claims asserting that he had been disabled by back injuries that he said he sustained on September 7, 1994 while lifting a tray of meat from the freezer when he was working as a Soux Chef for Alfredo the Original of Rome in New York, New York and thereafter receiving benefits between May 1, 1996 and June 2005. On October 7, 2002, April 2, 2003 and September 17, 2003, the defendant submitted work activity forms to Magna Carta Insurance that he had not returned to work since his injuries. Investigation revealed that the defendant actually had been gainfully employed as a maintenance worker for Harvard Maintenance Inc. in Manhattan between May 1, 1996 and March 1, 2004 under the name Subhag Hiralaz using a different social security number earning $42,532 a year.

- Maria Cecelia Jackson, 51, 13-22 Dickens Street in Far Rockaway, Queens who is alleged to have stolen $53,456 by filing a false application for workers’ compensation insurance on August 17, 2003 and April 26, 2004 as Maria Jackson, a waitress of Shearson Lehman Brothers and stated that she injured her back, hips, left ankle and leg as a result of a slip and fall while on the job and denied work activity since the date of injury. A computer check of WCIG revealed that the defendant had been classified as permanently disabled by the Workers Comp. Board in 1994 and further investigation revealed that she had been employed by Logan Bus Company using the name Cecilia Jackson with a different social security number as a bus aide/matron since 1999 earning approximately $300 per week.

The investigations were conducted by Investigators Todd Feder, Dave Regazzi and Brian Cody of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, Office of the Inspector General, under the supervision of Inspector General John Burgher Jr. and Assistant Inspector General Scott Jaffer; Investigators Ray Mayberry, Dominic Raspante, Larry Dolce and Curtis Brantley from the New York State Insurance Fund, Division of Confidential Investigations, under the supervision of Director Laurence LaPointe and Investigators Gary Anderson, Frank Hunt, Ed Gannon, Solomon Jones, Regina Wolfe, and George Capaccio, from the State of New York Insurance Department, Insurance Fraud Bureau, under the supervision of the Superintendent Howard Mills, Principal Investigator Tony DeRiso and Associate Investigator Harry Jackson with the assistance of Investigators Arthur Stoecker and Wayne Behnken of One Beacon Insurance under the supervision of Lou Pagnotta, SIU Manager and the overall supervision of Larry Milanesi, Regional SIU Manager and Investigator Ryan Gibbs of the United States Department of Labor and Investigator Tracie Hornedo of the United States Postal Inspection Service. The arrests were made by Detectives of the District Attorney’s Detective Squad under the supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief, and Al D. Velardi, Deputy Chief, and Investigators of the District Attorney’s New York State Police Unit under the supervision of Joel Downing, Senior Investigator.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine Burke of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that criminal charges are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

DEFENDANT INFORMATION:

1- Deborah Bermudez-Walshon, 33, 54 Handsome Avenue, Selden,
2- Leonard Drebsky, 50, 28-07 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria;
3- Wilson Damiano, 49, 67-14 47 Avenue, Woodside;
4- Gamel Abdelmalak, 45, 1877 Cornelia Street, Ridgewood;
5- Miguel Esteves, 48, 1721 Palmetto Street in Ridgewood;
6- Maria Cecilia Jackson, 51, 13-22 Dickens Street, Far Rockaway;
7- Elinet Jean-Baptiste, 29, 1045 Rockaway Avenue, Brooklyn;
8- Mahandranauth Lildharry, 45, 103-22 115th Street, Richmond Hill;
9- Luis Loayza, 44, 59-41 58th Avenue, Maspeth;
10- Timothy McCarthy, 43, 62-13 60th Drive, Maspeth;
11- Thomas Minas, 43, 69-44 Myrtle Avenue, Maspeth;
12- Sharon Neils, 30, 9314 214th Street, Queens Village;
13- James Ntim, 44, 1592 Kesup Avenue, the Bronx;
14- Xie-Ming-Xue, 43, 754 42nd Street, Brooklyn;
15- Luis Yuquilima, 36, 426 Bleeker Street, Brooklyn;
16- Joseph Haggerty, 36, 83-87 Woodhaven Boulevard, Fresh Meadows;
17- Pashalis Tsambazis, 56, 2309 29th Street, Astoria;
18- Narinder Singh, 47, 40-12 94th Street, Elmhurst;
19- Shirley Briones, 52, 37-06 81st Street, Jackson Heights;
20- Fernando Tolozano, 65, 95-03 23 Avenue, East Elmhurst;
21- Colleen O’Sullivan, 38, 16 Covert Avenue, New Hyde Park;
22- Anna Brown, 30, 168-12 127th Street, Jamaica.

Four defendants are still being sought.