Aug 28, 2014

Guilty Plea In New York Case

     From the New York Times:
A former New York City police officer accused of playing a major role in a scheme to defraud the Social Security Administration pleaded guilty on Wednesday and agreed to testify against his co-defendants.
Prosecutors said that the former officer, Joseph Esposito, was one of four people who concocted a scheme that bilked the federal government out of more than $27 million. ...
Under the terms of the agreement, if his testimony is satisfactory, he will be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree grand larceny and prosecutors will recommend a sentence of one and a half to four and a half years in prison. ...
Mr. Esposito and Mr. Hale, court papers say, referred most of the applicants to two psychiatrists for treatment and to establish a year’s worth of medical records. On several telephone calls recorded by the authorities, Mr. Esposito was captured coaching applicants on how to mimic the symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress when being examined by doctors. ...
It was also Mr. Esposito’s job, court papers say, to collect a large cash fee from the applicants — usually more than $28,000 per person — after they received the first lump-sum check from the government, prosecutors said. Mr. Esposito would bring the money to Mr. Hale’s house, where it would be split among the four men, according to court papers.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Crime does pay!

Anonymous said...

How serious are they about cracking down on fraud when the ringleader of one of the biggest SS disability scams in history doesn't get serious jail time? Come on man!

Anonymous said...

"to collect a large cash fee from the applicants--usually more than $28,000 per person--after they received the first lump-sum check.

Hmm...let's just say I'm skeptical about this.

Anonymous said...

7:02, The ringleader is probably doing what big drug pushers do when caught--turn evidence on other participants in the conspiracy. The most valuable evidence is generated by those in a position to know as many people as possible who are involved. That's how the process works!

Anonymous said...

Thank God there is no fraud in those obtaining SSA benefits...