Akwesasne Worker Busted For Insurance Fraud
Posted on Monday, 16 of November , 2009 at 4:18 pm
MASSENA—A Massena auto technician has surrendered to New York State Police in North Syracuse in an investigation of workers’ compensation fraud against the New York State Insurance Fund.
Sanford Gravel, 38, faces felony counts of offering a false instrument for filing, insurance fraud, and violating the Workers’ Compensation Law when he appears for his arraignment in the Town of Salina on Nov. 19.
Gravel surrendered to authorities Nov. 4, in a case that began in 2004 with a routine surveillance initiated by NYSIF Claims staff. The resulting joint investigation by NYSIF Division of Confidential Investigations, the New York State Insurance Department Frauds Bureau and the Workers’ Compensation Board Fraud Inspector General’s Office allegedly uncovered that Gravel had been working for a number of years as an auto technician for Swamps Performance, located on the Mohawk Akwesasne Reservation in Hogansburg.
Gravel originally claimed that he injured his ankle when he slipped on ice and fell on his way to work while employed by Massena Metals. The Workers’ Compensation board classified him with a permanent partial disability in 2003.
According to investigators, Gravel allegedly received $25,326 in workers’ compensation benefits to which he was not entitled while stating in writing to NYSIF and in testimony before the Workers’ Compensation Board that he had not returned to any form of work. Investigators estimated the potential future savings in the case at $153,687, as what Gravel would have been paid over the life of his claim. 11-16-09
Category: Business, Courts, Crime, Government, Insurance, Labor, New York State
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