North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Fraud Analysts Follow a Major Scam out of New York

July 6, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

Kenneth Bullock, a St. Regis, New York man, has been charged with fraud in conjunction with a scheme that he allegedly had perpetrated since the early 1990s. North Carolina workers’ compensation blogs and analysts are closely following the story.

Background

Bullock worked as a mechanic in New York in the 1990s. While executing his duties, he hurt his back — or so he claimed. Bullock said that his at-work accident rendered him unable to keep servicing cars, and he was put on workers’ comp. While collecting benefits, he moved to Florida and took another mechanic’s job – in direct violation of his workers’ comp arrangement.

If convicted of scamming the system, Bullock could face seven years imprisonment for illegally collecting $39,000 in benefits. Allegedly, surveillance caught Bullock working at a shop – investigators were tipped off when his claims arrived with Florida postage. The Onondaga County Insurance Fraud office will handle the matter, since that location processed Bullock’s claims.

North Carolina workers’ compensation fraud
drains hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars of funds from an already over-milked system every year. It’s obviously in the interest of all parties concerned – from trial attorneys to insurers to employers to injured workers – to clamp down on scams and schemes. Unfortunately, many injured workers with very legitimate claims wind up under investigation for fraud simply because they fail to file paperwork correctly or because they engage in activities to “stretch” themselves – such as aggressive physical rehab.

If you or a family member or a coworker has been wrongfully targeted for North Carolina workers’ compensation fraud, and you need guidance to make sure that you can collect benefits (and not get punished for making an illegitimate claim); or if you simply need basic FAQs answered about how to deal with a difficult employer or how to fight back against a recalcitrant insurance company, get in touch with a credentialed and experienced North Carolina workers’ compensation attorney ASAP. Get good guidance upfront, so you don’t wind up in a protracted battle over your benefits.

More Web Resources:

St. Regis man charged in alleged workers’ comp scam

Franklin County native charged with fraud