Joseph Clare Fraudulently Obtained Over $56K In Worker’s Compensation Benefits By Lying About Employment Status
Schneiderman: Those Who Cheat The Workers’ Compensation Program Will Be Held Responsible
GENOA – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott today announced the guilty pleas and sentence of Joseph Clare, a retired Lieutenant with the New York State Department of Corrections, for fraudulently obtaining over $56,000 in Workers’ Compensation Benefits in less than three years. Clare today entered guilty pleas before The Honorable Kim M. Bennett in Genoa Town Court, Cayuga County, to the charges of Attempted Fraudulent Practices and Petit Larceny, class “A” misdemeanors. As part of a plea agreement, Clare paid restitution today in the amount of $56,400.00 to the New York State Insurance Fund, to cover the costs of the Workers’ Compensation benefits that he received but was not entitled to, and was sentenced to a one year conditional discharge.
“When our Workers’ Compensation program is defrauded, honest, hardworking New Yorkers who rely on those funds end up paying the price,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “My office will keep fighting to root out fraud and hold those who cheat the Workers’ Compensation program for personal gain responsible.”
“This former State prison sergeant took advantage of a system meant to protect honest New Yorkers who are unable to work because of an illness or injury,” said Inspector General Leahy Scott. “I will continue to relentlessly pursue and hold accountable anybody who defrauds the Workers’ Compensation system.”
Clare admitted today to falsifying documents that he submitted to the New York State Insurance Fund, by stating on those documents that he was not working in any capacity while accepting Workers’ Compensation benefits, when he was, in fact, working. Between January 2012 and September 2014, Clare received Workers’ Compensation benefits for two injuries he claimed he suffered while at work. Clare received those benefits in part because he claimed he would not have retired from the New York State Department of Corrections but for those injuries.
The charges filed against Clare detail that during this time period Clare was working at and running his own car dealership called J & T Auto in King’s Ferry, NY. Despite running and working at J & T Auto, Clare claimed on six forms that he submitted to NYSIF, as required for his Workers’ Compensation cases, that he was not working in any capacity. Because of these false representations, Clare received $56,400.00 that he was not entitled to in Worker’s Compensation benefits.
The joint investigation was conducted with Investigative Counsel Katie McCutcheon and Investigator Dale Richter of the New York State Office of the Inspector General and former Senior Investigator of the New York State Insurance Fund, Thomas Wall. Attorney General Schneiderman thanks the New York State Office of the Inspector General and the New York State Insurance Fund for their assistance in this matter.
Assistant Attorneys General Mary Gorman and Daniel Bajger of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Bureau prosecuted this case. The Public Integrity Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Daniel Cort and Deputy Bureau Chief Stacy Aronowitz. The investigation was handled by Investigator David Buske of the Investigations Bureau, with support from Supervising Investigator Richard Doyle, Deputy Bureau Chief Antoine Karam, and Bureau Chief Dominick Zarrella. Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan leads the Criminal Justice Division.