Social Security Judges in New York Found Guilty Of Bias. 4,000 Claimants Will Get New Hearings

New hearings for SS claimants who received unfavorable decisions by ALJs

 

A court has approved a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit involving Social Security Disability claimants in the State of New York. The agreement will provide claimants with new hearings.

January 24, 2014 - A settlement agreement has been reached and approved by the court in a class action lawsuit involving Social Security Disability claimants in the State of New York. Among the different types of relief stipulated in the agreement, claimants are to receive fresh hearings in front of new Administrative Law Judges, or ALJs. 

(The specifics of the lawsuit) 

 In 2011, various Social Security Disability applicants who sought disability benefits received unfavorable or partially favorable judgements by one of five ALJs from the Queens, New York Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (SSA/ODAR).

The claimants argued that the rulings were biased. 

 In April 2011, they filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration. The case was later filed as a class action and expanded to include approximately 4,000 total Social Security Disability claimants. 

 Attorneys for both sides worked toward a resolution throughout the various months thereafter. (Settlement approved) 

A settlement agreement was officially approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The approval came after written comments provided to the court as well as information obtained from the settlement hearings, among other evidence, were reviewed. 

The Settlement Agreement includes individual, retrospective and prospective relief for claimants, new training and mentoring for ALJs, and a new Social Security Ruling, or SSR. 

(New hearings for class members)

 In more specific terms, the Settlement Agreement stipulates that all eligible claimants, those who received unfavorable or partially favorable decisions from one of the named ALJ, defendant judges during the period stipulated in the complaint, will receive new hearings. The Social Security Administration indicates plans to send out notices to each claimant by the end of next month. Eligible claimants are provided 60 days to request a new hearing once their notices are received. 

(Other settlement stipulations)

 The Settlement also stipulates that an automatic review will be conducted by the SSA's Appeals Council (A/C)for any new claimants who receive unfavorable decisions (those that commenced October 2013 and for 30 months thereafter) by any one of the five ALJs named in the recent lawsuit. If the A/C determines any unfavorable decisions are legally insufficient, the claimant will automatically receive a fresh hearing in front of a new ALJ. 

Under the agreement, the SSA will also provide additional training and mentorship to all ALJs to help them improve the ways they handle and conduct Social Security Disability hearings in the future. Additionally, the settlement stipulates a new Social Security Ruling that details new procedures on how to address allegations of "unfair ALJ hearings, ALJ bias, and ALJ misconduct." 

( Article provided by The Klein Law Group, P.C., at www.thekleinlawgroup.com)
 NYC Social Security Disability Attorneys.

The Klein Law Group, P.C., fights for the rights of those who have been hurt at work or are unable to qualify for disability pay.
 Practicing solely in New York state, with lawyers are highly knowledgeable in the area of New York workers' compensation law, as well as the complex workings of the federal Social Security Administration.
The Klein Law Group, P.C., can confidently take your case at any stage, from initial application through final appeal before the Workers' Compensation Board. In the rare event that you do not receive benefits, you pay no attorney's fees.
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Social Security Judges to Commissioner, "We Need Lawyers"

Fixing Disability Courts

A Social Security hearing is not a trial; it is a fact finding inquiry. The system is not even an adversarial system as defined by the judicial process. In an adversarial system, both sides are represented. In the present Social Security Disability Claims System the claimant can bring an attorney, but the system does not provide the government (SSA) with one. The taxpayers have no advocate on their behalf to ask questions, challenge medical evidence or review the 500 to 700 pages of materials that make up a typical case file.
The (Social Security Administration) judicial system is not run by anyone with real judicial experience. It is at the mercy of unelected bureaucrats whose only concern is how many cases each judge can churn out and how fast he or she can do it. An adversarial system with both sides represented and all evidence on the table is the best way to root out fraud and ensure that legitimate claims are paid.
(See http://www.amazon.com/socialNsecurity-Confessions-Social-Security-Judge/dp/1449569757)
(Below is an Extract from the book, "socialNsecurity, Confessions of a Social Security Judge".)

An Interview of Judge D. RANDALL FRYE, President Association of Social Security Administrative Law Judges (AALJ) JAN. 19, 2014

(Above pictured is D. Randall Frye, on the right, with Marilyn Zahm)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (QUOTE) IT’S hard to imagine a more cynical fraud. According to an indictment unsealed last week by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, post-9/11 phobias of airplanes and skyscrapers were among the fictitious ailments described by retired New York City police officers and firefighters who, in a scheme involving as many as 1,000 people, are accused of ripping off the Social Security disability system by filing false claims.

As an administrative law judge (ALJ) responsible for hearing Social Security disability cases (SSDI), I’m more familiar than most people with the system. But everyone has a right to be outraged by the recent charges. Officials estimate that the fraud cost the federal government $400 million. If true, it is the largest theft in the history of Social Security.

According to court papers, the fraudsters claimed to be so ill that they could not leave their homes to work, but many posted photographs on Facebook of themselves on motorcycles and water scooters, fishing and playing sports. How did they expect to get away with it?

Well, here’s a little-known fact. Neither the staff members of the Social Security Administration, who review initial claims, nor judges like myself, who hear disputed cases, are allowed to look at Facebook in the context of a case. Even if something in the case file suggests a claimant is not telling the whole truth, Social Security Administration policy prevents us from looking at social media, for fear that we cannot be trusted to properly assess the information gathered there. No Facebook, no Pinterest, no Twitter, no Tumblr. None of the sources that most employers routinely use to check the credibility of potential employees are available to us.

It gets worse. When a disputed case comes before an administrative law judge, a vast majority of claimants bring an attorney. After all, the average claim, if successful, will yield a payout of some $300,000 in lifetime benefits. With so much at stake, it’s only reasonable that a person who believes that he has wrongly been denied benefits would hire a lawyer. But isn’t it equally reasonable that the taxpayers should have an attorney present to challenge a claim that might be false?

Sorry, no luck. When I conduct a hearing (which occurs with no members of the press or public present, because of privacy concerns), the claimant can bring an attorney, but the system does not provide the government (SSA) with one. The taxpayers have no advocate on their behalf to ask questions, challenge medical evidence or review the 500 to 700 pages of materials that make up a typical case file. Not only that, but because of Social Security Administration policy, I am no longer allowed to order independent psychological testing to help determine whether a claimant is telling the truth.

Social Security disability courts have millions of claimants and constitute one of the world’s largest judicial systems. But the (Social Security) judicial system is not run by anyone with real judicial experience. Instead, we are at the mercy of unelected bureaucrats whose only concern is how many cases each judge can churn out and how fast we can do it. The Social Security Administration is currently run by an acting commissioner; President Obama should appoint a permanent leader with recognized professional experience in the field of social insurance.

The Association of Administrative Law Judges AALJ), for which I serve as president, favors modernizing disability hearings so that we can give claimants a fair hearing while also protecting taxpayers. Our courtrooms ought to look more like what you see on “Law and Order” or “The Good Wife.” Each side should have an advocate, allowing judges to narrow the facts in dispute and apply the law in a neutral manner. And judges and their staff members should be able to use social media, including Facebook.

Though it is not clear from the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment if any of the claims in question ever wound up before an ALJ, it is clear than the current antiquated system handicaps the effective review of cases and encourages brazen behavior.

The system needs to be made more trustworthy and fully transparent. The actions of a few crooks must not be allowed to threaten the disability payments of millions of people who are genuinely disabled, many of whom paid into the disability insurance fund during their working lives. An adversarial system with both sides represented and all evidence on the table is the best way to root out fraud and ensure that legitimate claims are paid.(UNQUOTE)

D. Randall Frye is an administrative law judge for the United States Social Security Administration and the President of the AALJ, Association of Administrative Law Judges.

EXTRACT from the book ( "socialNsecurity, Confessions of a Social Security Judge", published 2010, Introduction, p. 17)

..

Social Security Disability hearings are not trials. They are more in the nature of fact finding inquiries. They are presided over by an administrative law judge (ALJ), who is trained in the law. At a hearing only one side of the case is present and represented by an attorney or a paralegal. That is the claimant’s side.

If only one side of a controversy is present for the hearing, then why does the claimant need to have a judge presiding? When the Government wants to win a case, Congress designs a system that provides it with an advantage. In Immigration Hearings, the Government is represented by an attorney. When the Government is a party to a hearing before the Supreme Court, it is represented by the Solicitor General. In any other federal judicial forum where the Government has an interest, the Attorney General will ensure that the Government is adequately represented.

In Social Security Disability hearings the Government is not represented. The Government is not even present. That is probably because the system was designed to give the claimant an advantage. The case is the claimant’s case, to win or to lose. A judge is not needed to collect the medical records and listen to testimony that is not really cross-examined. The presiding officer is forced to accept the claimant’s testimony, no matter how farfetched it may be. The only evidence available to impeach the testimony of the witnesses is the evidence that the claimant provides. This could hardly be considered cross-examination.

...

In a trial there are usually two sides to a controversy. Each side is required to be present but may or may not be represented. A judge acts as referee to ensure that the rules of evidence and procedure are followed. There may or may not be a jury to determine the facts.

In a Social Security hearing only one side is present; that is the claimant, and his or her representative. The case is against the Government, but the Government is not present. Neither is the Government represented. That is because the system was designed to ensure that the claimant wins. After all, he is only asking for what is rightfully his. He has a social contract with the Government. He has paid his premiums in the form of payroll taxes and he is fully insured. Instead of honoring its obligations under the contract the Government first tries to delay or deny the claim. This is just plain bad faith.

(socialNsecurity, Confessions of a Social Security Judge", published 2010, Amazon.com, Introduction, p. 17)

FCC Defeated Again

A Victory for an Unfettered Internet

After another court loss, the FCC should abandon its 'net neutrality' regulation goal.

A federal appeals court in Washington slapped the Federal Communications Commission on January 14 for overstepping its legal authority by trying to regulate Internet access. The FCC is now a two-time loser in court in its net-neutrality efforts. Has the government learned its lesson, or will the agency take a third stab at regulating the Internet? The answer to that question will affect the Internet's growth in the 21st century.

The FCC's quest to regulate the Internet began in 2010, when the commission first promulgated rules for net neutrality. The rules, proponents argue, are needed to police Internet "on-ramps" (Internet service providers) ostensibly to ensure that they stay "open." To accomplish this, some want the FCC to subject the Internet to ancient communications laws designed for extinct phone and railroad monopolies.

But the trouble is, nothing needs fixing. The Internet has remained open and accessible without FCC micromanagement since it entered public life in the 1990s. And more regulation could produce harmful results, such as reduced infrastructure investment, stunted innovation, slower speeds and higher prices for consumers. The FCC never bothered to study the impact that such intervention might have on the broadband market before leaping to regulate. Nor did it consider the ample consumer-protection laws that already exist. The government's meddling has been driven more by ideology and a 2008 campaign promise by then-Sen. Barack Obama than by reality.

Further FCC attempts to regulate the Internet could trigger global regulation of the Internet by the International Telecommunication Union, a treaty-based organization under the U.N.'s control. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies have been working for a decade to upend a 1988 agreement—forged by delegates from 114 countries—to leave the Internet unfettered. The U.S. has so far been opposed to applying new international rules for the Internet. In October, 193 countries will gather again for talks to conclude a new treaty that will decide the Internet's fate. Proponents hope to build off victories won last year at International Telecommunication Union talks in Dubai that gave the agency narrow authority to regulate. The goal is to achieve what Mr. Putin summarized in 2011 as "international control of the Internet."

The prospect of multilateral regulation makes the FCC's next move all the more important, as it will set the standard for what happens in the next round of negotiations in South Korea. The U.S. argument that regulation of the Internet at home is a good idea but a bad one internationally is eroding American credibility. The U.S. attempt to have it both ways has inspired scorn from other countries, as I personally experienced during official meetings in Dubai in 2012.

Which is why the FCC should drop its pursuit of net-neutrality rules altogether. The regulations are a bad idea for many reasons, but especially because they radically depart from—and endanger—the highly successful, nongovernmental, private-sector-led, "multi-stakeholder" process for resolving the Internet's technical challenges. Under this loose structure, engineers, academics and users from all over the world work individually to keep a borderless "network of networks" open and thriving. The flat and dispersed architecture of the Internet defies centralized and top-down control: No government is capable of keeping up with the Web's warp-speed evolution. The nimble multi-stakeholder structure of Internet governance, which enjoyed broad bipartisan and international support during the Clinton and Bush administrations, has made the Internet the greatest deregulatory success story of all time.

As a result of this framework for innovation, Internet usage has penetrated faster than any technology in history. Rapid adoption of Internet-enabled mobile devices is profoundly improving the lives of billions of people, especially in the developing world. It is also helping to change their political expectations as it strengthens the sovereignty of the individual by providing fast and inexpensive access to the world's information. Authoritarian regimes feel threatened by unfettered Internet access. That's why they've embarked on a patient diplomatic strategy to accrue power over its on-ramps.

Enlarge Image

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Pursuing an expanded U.S. government role into the Internet's affairs foolishly plays into the hands of these pro-regulation regimes. At a minimum, new American rules provide them with political cover and the veneer of a rational argument to use for their own nefarious ends. Especially in light of current concerns about National Security Agency surveillance, it should be obvious that the problem of too much state interference with the Internet will not be cured by even more government meddling, either domestically or internationally. Now is a chance to turn back the tide of state encroachment.

The U.S. government must reverse course immediately. First, the FCC should abandon any further legal appeals of its case. Next, the FCC should unequivocally restate its commitment to the multi-stakeholder model of resolving network-management challenges and Internet governance. Then, the commission should work with antitrust and consumer-protection agencies to take an inventory of all existing laws that could either prevent or cure anticompetitive conduct in the Internet sphere, instead of making new rules. This will be essential to the International Telecommunication Union negotiations in the fall, as proponents of global rules just need a simple majority of the 193 to impose their agenda.

In short, governments could have a seat at the multi-stakeholder Internet-governance table, they just shouldn't own the table. The existing paradigm has produced positive and constructive results and will continue to do so if governments stay out of the way.

Otherwise, the consequences of multilateral control of the Internet could cause a radical disruption of the digital economy that would harm tomorrow's Internet users in the developing world the most. It is not too late to turn back these assaults on Internet freedom, but we are running out of time.

Mr. McDowell is a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute.

(By Robert McDowell, Jan. 14, 2014) 

Big Fraud In The Big Apple

The Big Apple does everything in a big way. The Great White Way leads the world in live stage entertainment on and off  Broadway. The World Champion New York Yankees and the New York Knicks set the pace for world class sports entertainment. The New York Times, was the Queen of the Tabloids. The Wall Street Journal is the standard for world financial reporting.

New Yorkers like to do things in a big way; but, when it came to defrauding the Social Security Disability Program,  New York's Police and Firemen have out-done themselves.

New York tabloids are having a field day with the news that dozens of ex-cops have been charged with scamming as much as $400 million in Social Security disability benefits. The bigger outrage is that this grand taxpayer theft went undetected for over two decades (25 years) and is merely part of the national scandal that the disability program has become.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. this week charged 102 retirees, including 80 former New York police officers and firefighters, with making phony disability claims since as far back as 1988 to obtain Social Security benefits and tax-free pensions equalling up to 75% of their pay.

 About half of the cheats attributed their "disabilities" to the World Trade Center disaster on  9/11, even if they never even worked at Ground Zero. 

Heading the alleged racket were 64-year-old retired cop Joseph Esposito and 61-year-old detectives' union consultant John Minerva. They recruited and then directed disability applicants to Raymond Lavallee, an 83-year-old former Nassau County prosecutor, and 89-year-old Thomas Hale who assists disability applicants. They are alleged to have acted much like college counselors, except their jobs were to make their clients look inept.

The group’s suspected ringleaders — retired officer Joseph Esposito, 64; detectives’ union disability consultant John Minerva, 61; lawyer and former FBI agent and suburban prosecutor Raymond Lavallee, 83; and benefits consultant Thomas Hale, 89. Messrs. Hale and Esposito allegedly coached applicants to feign psychiatric impairments by failing memory tests, dressing shabbily, and describing symptoms with statements such as "My [family member] is always after me about my grooming." Many said they couldn't leave the house except for short walks.

They claimed all this even as they have active lives and second careers. One ex-cop who claimed to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) posted a YouTube video of himself teaching karate. Was he trying to make the cut for "America's Dumbest Cops"?

{(Glenn Liebermann, shown above, received $175,758.40 in benefits. (Image source: NY Manhattan District attorneys Office)}

{(Richard Cosintino, shown above, is seen on a boat sword fishing. He received $207,639.70 in payments. (Image Source: NY Manhattan District attorneys Office.)}
Online photographs showed others riding motorcycles and jet skis, which we doubt passes as physical therapy.
The four ringleaders allegedly charged a flat fee that ranged from $20,000 to $50,000 per applicant. Mr. Lavallee also received $6,000 per applicant in attorney's fees from the Social Security Administration.  He must really be enjoying his Golden Years.
 Prosecutors say two doctors have also been arrested for allegedly agreeing to falsify claims in return for a cut of the disability benefits.

Mr. Vance says the 102 indicted retirees collected on average $210,000 in benefits.
Since most are still in their 40s or early 50s, each could have extracted hundreds of thousands more had the racket continued. One alleged fraudster is only 32 years old. Mr. Vance says as many as 1,000 people may have been involved in the scheme, and the investigation is continuing.

What's remarkable about all this is that it's merely an extreme example of what has been happening across the country. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued an amazing report last October describing how a Kentucky-based disability law firm colluded with a Social Security Administration's (SSA) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) David Daugherty to abuse the program. The report says that disability attorney Eric Conn employed attractive women to recruit applicants and hired doctors with records of ethical problems to falsify medical opinions.

He then steered his clients' applications to ALJ David Daugherty. Administrative law judges re-evaluate de novo applications that have been rejected. Some like Judge Daugherty have a reputation for being "intellectually lazy," to quote his professional colleagues. Judge Daugherty approved benefits in more than 99% of cases compared to a program-wide average of 62%, which is dubious enough. Between 2005 and 2011, he awarded an estimated $2.5 billion in lifetime benefits—while rarely being in the office.

Two women who worked in the SSA's West Virginia office have filed a civil suit against Mr. Conn and Judge Daugherty. Mr. Conn responded in a statement that "it is noteworthy that the U.S. government studied the lawsuit for a year and a half and decided not to join it or get involved" and that "I have always tried to represent my clients in the best and most appropriate way possible, within all the laws and rules." Neither man would answer questions at a Senate hearing in October 2013.

The gist of the Senate report is that the SSA's  disability program (SSDI) has vague criteria for qualifying and lacks even the barest oversight, which makes it ripe for abuse. ALJs decide cases independently and are virtually immune to disciplinary action. Politicians enable the fraudsters by denouncing anyone who proposes a fix as an enemy of the disabled.

The truth is that opponents of reform are the ones hurting the truly disabled. The charts pictured above show how disability claims have exploded—to 8.9 million last year from 5.9 million in 2003 and 2.7 million in 1985. Not coincidentally, that is the year Congress relaxed eligibility standards to make it easier for people reporting pain, discomfort and mental illness to qualify for benefits. Like the jet-skiers in New York.

The second chart shows that all of these claims are bleeding the Social Security disability trust fund, which paid out $137 billion in benefits in 2012 or nearly twice as much as a decade ago. Without reform, the fund is on track to go broke in 2016, triggering either a 20% cut in benefits for all recipients or one more taxpayer bailout.

You'd think that fixing this mess would be a Washington priority, but Mr. Coburn and a few others are voices in the wilderness. Instead the country is treated to a political game over extended jobless benefits that might even be affordable if the Obama Administration cared a whit about stopping disability fraud. The polls say public trust in government is falling to new lows, but judging by the open secret of disability insurance scams it isn't nearly low enough. (WSJ, Opinion, p.A12, 10 Jan 2014)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS article:

NYPD, FDNY members cashed in on bogus 9/11 woes as part of massive $400M Social Security fraud: prosecutor

Dozens of former cops and firefighters claiming 9/11 trauma were among the 106 indicted for gaming the Social Security disability system to take early retirement and leech off the taxpayers, authorities said.

Comments (208)

By Shayna Jacobs , Rocco Parascandola AND Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Tuesday, January 7, 2014, 12:01 PM

Updated: Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 7:16 AM

Photo from Facebook page of Glenn Lieberman, who is accused of participating in a Social Security disability scam to the tune of $175,758.40 according to the Manhattan DA's office.

They spat on the memory of the real victims of 9/11.
Dozens of former city cops and firefighters used the 2001 terror attacks as an excuse to fund carefree lifestyles on the taxpayer’s dime, authorities said Tuesday.
The former NYPD and FDNY members — who claimed to have suffered stress-related woes from the World Trade Center attacks — were among 106 people indicted for a longstanding Social Security disability scam, officials said.
A former Brooklyn cop, Glenn Lieberman, 44, became the unwitting poster boy for the sprawling ripoff ring, which includes 71 other retired city cops, eight former firefighters and five ex-correction employees.
Lieberman, accused of being part of the crooked crew that soaked taxpayers for $21.5 million, showed his contempt in an undated photo released by prosecutors with a sick grin and two extended middle fingers.

Joe Marino; Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News

The alleged ringleaders of the disability scam that dated back to 1988.

He and the former cops and firefighters were coached by ringleaders to act dysfunctional and steered to shady doctors who helped green-light disability payments of anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 a year, the 205-count indictment charges.
RELATED: CITY COPS, FIREFIGHTERS SUSPECTED OF SCAMMING SOCIAL SECURITY
“I can only express my disgust at the actions of the individuals involved in this scheme,” Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
He said he was particularly chagrined that 72 former members of the NYPD “disgraced themselves, embarrassed their families.”
“The idea that many of them chose the events of 9/11 to claim as the bases for this disability brings further dishonor to themselves,” Bratton added.

NYPD retiree Richard Cosentino felt good enough for marlin fishing in Costa Rica.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. suggested there might be additional indictments beyond those announced Tuesday by the time they wrap up the probe. The scammers operated from January 1988 until last month, and some 1,000 people filed fraudulent claims for as much as $400 million, Vance said.
The suspects flaunted their money and carefree lifestyle on social media, apparently never dreaming they would be caught.
“The brazenness is shocking,” said Vance.
RELATED: 2 TO SURRENDER IN NYC DISABILITY SCAM: SOURCES
Take Lieberman, an ex-Brooklyn South Gangs officer who quit the force in 2006 after 19 years on the job and collected $175,758.40 in disability payments based on a bogus claim of having a psychiatric disorder, prosecutors charged.

Surveillance photo shows Darrin Lamantia, a cop who retired on a disability claim, playing basketball.

But the ex-cop, who now lives in Palm Beach, Fla., doesn’t look like a tortured soul as he sits on a Jet-Ski and flips a pair of birds in the photo.
Lieberman, who is charged with second-degree grand larceny and criminal solicitation, could not be reached for comment. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
But he was not the only suspect who lived the good life thanks to the fraudulent payments, officials said.

Vincent Lamantia, 43, a retired NYPD officer, used the $150,000 in disability money he collected between May 2010 and June 2013 to “fund his lifestyle,” Assistant District Attorney Bryan Serino said.
“He bragged about what he was doing in a series of YouTube videos,” Serino added.

ROBERTO BOREA/AP

Workers sift through the pile of rubble at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terror attacks.

RELATED: BERNIE KERIK RIPS ATTORNEY JOE TACOPINA IN BAR COMPLAINT
Richard Cosentino, a 49-year-old retired NYPD officer who now lives in New Hampshire, posted a photo of himself on Facebook with a massive marlin he caught.
“It was an awesome day off the coast of Costa Rica,” he wrote on Sept. 11, 2012, while many New Yorkers were marking the anniversary of the terror attacks.
Prosecutors say Cosentino stole nearly $208,000 between May 2008 and June 2013. He appears happy and functional in his picture.
Louis (Shidoshi) Hurtado, a 60-year-old former NYPD officer, has collected a whopping $470,395.20 since June 1989.

This flow chart provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office shows the layers of the scam and the alleged ringleaders.

But being diagnosed with psychiatric problems didn’t stop him from running his own mixed martial arts school outside Tampa and boasting on its website about serving as a “personal bodyguard” to stars including Sean Connery and James Caan.
Prosecutors said the four ringleaders of the scheme should have known better.
RELATED: I'M TELLING YA, I'M A HERO!
Raymond Lavallee, 83, of Massapequa, L.I., accused of being the brains of the operation, is a former FBI agent who once ran the rackets bureau at the Nassau County DA’s office.
Thomas Hale, 89, of Bellmore, L.I., who allegedly served as Lavallee’s right-hand man, is a pension consultant.

Civilian worker Joseph Morrone (center) helps dish cannolis at the San Gennaro festival.

Joseph Esposito, 64, of Valley Stream, L.I., a retired New York police officer, allegedly recruited many of the crooked cops and firefighters.
And John Minerva, 61, of Malverne, L.I., also allegedly steered people into the scam. He has been suspended from the Detectives Endowment Association.
The four alleged ringleaders are charged with first- and second-degree grand larceny and attempted second-degree grand larceny. Each faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Esposito said nothing when he turned himself in earlier Tuesday.
RELATED: CON MAN USED CLAIMS OF BEING 9/11 RESPONDER TO GET CLOSE TO CELEBRITIES

John Stefanowski, an ex-cop, loves golf.

“While these are serious allegations, we were aware that they were coming,” his lawyer, Brian Griffin, said. “We did not avoid them.”
The lawyers for the other accused ringleaders protested their clients’ innocence.
Minerva’s lawyer, Glenn Hardy, said: “My client’s involvement in this scheme was minimal at best.”
Joseph Conway, who represents Hale, said his client was a “decorated World War II veteran.”
“For the last 30 years, he’s run a legitimate consulting company,” Conway said. “He vehemently denies any wrongdoing.”

John Famularo, an ex-Finest and motorcycle enthusiast, is accused of taking more than $340,000 in the scam.

Lavallee’s lawyer, Raymond Perini, said his client is a Korean War vet and former G-man who investigated organized crime in New York and Miami.
RELATED: GROUND ZERO 'HERO' ARRESTED
“He’s denied each and every allegation,” Perini said.
In an 11-page bail letter addressed to Justice Daniel Fitzgerald, prosecutors said cops seeking to claim a disability would seek out Esposito or Minerva, who would then steer them to Hale and Lavallee.
But it was Esposito who “coached” the applicants on what to say to doctors and urged them to “pretend” to have “panic attacks.”

JB NICHOLAS FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said he can only express his disgust over Social Security scheme.

“You’re gonna tell ’em, ‘I don’t sleep well at night,’ ” Esposito was caught on a wiretap telling one defendant, Jacqueline Powell. “I’m up three, four times.”
Esposito and the other ringleaders got a kickback for every patient diagnosed with a stress-related illness, prosecutors charged. So did at least two doctors who were part of the scam.
None of the doctors involved has been named or indicted but they could face charges at a later date, officials said.
The DA’s office took on the probe after a Social Security official noticed a series of applications that all seem to be written with the same hand and that all had similar diagnoses.
The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau joined the probe and uncovered the retired officers allegedly participating in the ripoff.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said the union doesn’t “condone anyone filing false claims.”
With Larry McShane

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/4-surrender-social-security-scam-article-1.1568664#ixzz2q47HEfUl


A top lawmaker January 16 demanded a top-to-bottom review of the Social Security Administration’s management structure, following a series of disability scandals that have rocked the agency and led to widespread government scrutiny.
Rep. Sam Johnson (R., Texas), who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees Social Security, directed the Social Security Administration’s inspector general to launch the review.
The demand comes one week after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office brought a case alleging more than 100 people – including former firemen and police officers – were cheating the Social Security Disability Insurance program by improperly collecting benefits when they shouldn’t have.

In August, the U.S. Attorney in Puerto Rico brought another large case alleging widescale disability fraud — one of the largest sweeps since the program was created in the 1950s and the first major case since the program’s rapid expansion during the financial crisis.
And the Justice Department is also looking into whether there was an improper relationship between a former Social Security judge (Daugherty) in West Virginia and a disability lawyer in Kentucky.

The Social Security Administration primarily authorizes two kinds of benefits, one for older Americans and another for people who are no longer able to work because of health problems.
The disability program pays close to $140 billion in benefits to roughly 11 million people, making it one of the government’s largest – but least known – entitlement programs.
A number of Democrats have joined Republicans in demanding more answers from top Social Security Administration officials, as the recent scandals come at a time when the SSDI program is quickly exhausting its reserves. Its trust fund is projected to run out of money in 2016.
Mr. Johnson called for the review during a hearing at which SSA acting commissioner Carolyn Colvin and SSA inspector general Patrick O’Carroll testified. Though Mr. O’Carroll’s division is responsible for overseeing and even investigating the agency’s operations, the IG has stopped short of criticizing any of the agency’s actions with regard to the cases in New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia. In fact, in recent months, senior SSA officials have told Congress that disability fraud is very rare, and the IG’s office hasn’t refuted that view.
A top-to-bottom review, as demanded by Mr. Johnson, could create a more adversarial relationship between the IG and top SSA brass than has existed in recent years.
As the disability program has grown, it has faced a number of strains. Millions of Americans applied for benefits during the economic downturn, straining the agency’s resources and forcing many judges to ramp up their workload for processing appeals. This has created a growing tension between a number of judges and senior SSA management, leading to at least one lawsuit. Meanwhile, the agency has taken steps to tighten its control over the administrative law judges.
During the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security hearing on Thursday January 16th, Rep. Tim Griffin (R- Ark.) raised questions about the disability program’s efficiency and accuracy in the wake of recent high-profile fraud cases.
Social Security Administration Inspector General Patrick O’Carroll and SSA Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin testified before the subcommittee about the SSA’s ability to root out fraud and handle employees who are implicated in a scheme.
Colvin testified that 99 percent of disability payments are made correctly. Griffin, however, noted recent disability schemes in New York, Puerto Rico and West Virginia and challenged the accuracy of Colvin’s claim.
That talking point, Griffin said, “needs to be erased” because the nature of fraud makes it impossible to know how rampant abuse of Social Security disability has become.
Griffin also questioned the SSA’s ability to reprimand and fire SSA employees who are investigated or implicated in disability schemes.
“…We all know that in order to fire someone, they do not have to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law applying (the) beyond a reasonable doubt standard,” Griffin said. “That’s not the standard to fire people.”
O’Carroll said the preference is to place an employee on leave without pay while investigating criminal activities; however, sometimes employees are left in place and monitored in an effort to identify co-conspirators.
Ms. Colvin is running the agency until the White House nominates a commissioner, and the White House has not signaled when it might move on the vacancy.

Another 28 former NYPD officers and firefighters arrested in $400million disability benefits scheme

• Dozens more arrested in social security disability scam totaled $400million
• Of those arrested today, 16 were retired NYPD officers, four were ex-firefighters, one worked for both NYPD and FDNY among others
• Comes after more than 100 other former New York police officers and firefighters were arrested in January
• Were 'coached' on how to appear to be suffering from PTSD and other physical and psychological conditions
• Some claimed that their disabilities stemmed from 9/11 clean up

By Meghan Keneally
PUBLISHED: 11:59 EST, 25 February 2014 | UPDATED: 18:21 EST, 25 February 2014

Dozens more retired New York police officers and firefighters have been arrested in connection to the disability benefits fraud scheme.
Another 28 people have been arrested throughout the day, making this the second round of arrests in the wide-ranging social security benefits scheme.
The plot was first reported in January when the Manhattan District Attorney announced that more than 100 people were arrested after being involved in a longterm plot wherein they claimed to have disabilities like post traumatic stress disorder in an effort to steal hundreds of thousands from the government.

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Being taken in: This is one of the 28 former police and firefighters who were arrested today for their alleged involvement in the benefit fraud scheme that stole up to $400million from taxpayers

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Tarnishing the badge: The latest batch of suspects have been named and have been rounded up

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Perp walk: The 28 individuals- including at least six women- were brought to authorities in Manhattan on Tuesday

The latest 28 offenders have been named but not identified in pictured.
One of the most interesting arrests is that of former police officer Sam Esposito, whose father Joseph was arrested last month after being labeled one of the scheme's 'ringleaders'.
Of the latest arrests, 16 were retired NYPD officers, four were from the fire department, one was from both the fire department and then police department and another was from the department of corrections.

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Aside from those 21 individuals, there were seven others who were arrested today and the list of all 28 names was released publicly but it does not indicate which suspect corresponded with which agency.
'Last month’s indictment was the first step in ending a massive fraud against American taxpayers,' said District Attorney Cy Vance in a statement.
'Today, dozens of additional defendants have been charged with fabricating psychiatric conditions in order to fraudulently obtain Social Security Disability insurance, a critically important social safety net reserved for those truly in need.

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Warmer waters: Like a handful of other disability recipients before him, William Korinek (seen here with his wife) moved down to Florida after retiring from the New York force

'These defendants are accused of gaming the system by lying about their lifestyle, including their ability to work, drive, handle money, shop, and socialize, in order to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled.

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Caught: Michael Guicie of Manalapan, New Jersey was one of the 28 accused

'Their lies were repetitive and extensive. My Office is continuing to work with the U.S. Social Security Administration to bring additional cases, where appropriate.'
All told, prosecutors told The New York Daily News that up to $400million may have been netted by the schemers, and it is entirely possible that hundreds of others could be arrested.
There were 102 people who were indicted as recipients in the fraudulent benefits scheme on January 7.
The recipients were a mix of 72 former NYPD officers, eight former fire fighters, and other corrections officers all who made up different physical and psychological conditions that they reportedly incurred on the job.
Some of the accused had been falsely claiming disability funds since the 1980s- with the help of four administrative ringleaders- while others only started after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Many were coached about how they could appear depressed or in the throes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and others said that their work on Ground Zero led them to feel incapacitated in large crowds.
The roles of the individuals arrested today and the bogus claims that they allegedly made have yet to be explicitly laid out.

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Under cover: Some of the schemers had been benefiting from ill-earned disability payments for decades

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Waiting for the story: In the District Attorney's earlier round up of more than 100 recipients, they even told how they were determined to be falsifying their claims

When the District Attorney's office made their case in January, they released photos of some of the accused blatantly showing off their wealth and behaving in ways that would been impossible if their disability claims were true.
Glenn Lieberman, 48, was held up by the New York District Attorney as one of the poster boys for the widespread scam.

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Rounding them up: The 28 new suspects are being brought into the Manhattan District Attorney's office over the course of Tuesday- many of whom are now in the custody of their former colleagues

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Walk of shame: This new suspect tries to hide his face using an Under Armor hat

The former police officer was living in a rented $1.5million  waterfront mansion that has a pool and access to a waterway where he parked his two jet skis at the time of his arrest.
The officers were not the only ones in on the scheme, as The Post reports that some of the accused' siblings pulled the same move.
Vincent LaMantia is one of the 102 indicted fraudsters, and his siblings Darrin, Karen and Thomas all told officials that they had psychiatric ailments that made it impossible for them to hold down a job.
All told, the Staten Island siblings collected $596,000- with the largest portion- $287,000- going to Thomas as he began making disability claims in 2002.

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Their time behind bars: These three men were brought in to the DA's office on Tuesday

Vincent, 43, collected $148,000 and the remaining $161,000 was split between Karen, Kevin and Darrin.

Many of the fraudsters left a virtual trail, including Vincent LaMantia who posted a motivational video online (which has now been removed) where he talked about ways to get rich quick. 
Another such example was that of Joseph Morrone, who told authorities that his work after the September 11th attacks left him with a debilitating fear of crowds.
On Facebook, he was pictured selling cannolis at the crowded San Gennaro festival in Little Italy.
The suspicion is that there were a handful of 'crooked' lawyers and doctors who worked with the responders in question and were fully aware of how to 'game the system'.
The four alleged 'ringleaders' were identified first, and it is clear that their positions within the NYPD and background in legal work helped them evade capture for years.

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Sending a message: Glenn Lieberman is pictured on a jet ski, clearly not as incapacitated as he claimed to be in his benefit filing. He was one of the original 102 people caught in the first bust in January

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Active: Rich Cosentino collected a total of $207639 since May 2008

Participants would start out by contacting John Minerva, 61, a Detectives Endowment Association consultant, or Joseph Esposito, 64, a retired member of the NYPD.
Minerva or Esposito would then refer the fraudsters to one of two lawyers who were in on the scheme- Thomas Hale, 89, and former FBI agent Raymond Lavallee, 83.
All four are charged with first and second degree grand larceny. The 9/11 disability claims are not the first that the four men have had a hand in, as ABC reports that they are believed to have been running disability scams since 1988.
The lawyers put the schemers in touch with two different doctors- but not after some coaching.

Sam Esposito, a former cop from Ozone Park who has sat on Community Board 9 for years, was one of 28 people arrested Tuesday and indicted in a massive ongoing Social Security fraud investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said.

Tuesday’s arrests follow Vance’s announcement in early January that 106 defendants were charged with participating in a massive fraud against the federal Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits program that resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars from federal taxpayers.

Esposito’s father, Joseph Esposito, 64, also a former police officer, was previously arrested and charged with being one of the alleged kingpin of the operation, according to law officials.

Sam Esposito, 48, and the 27 others arrested Tuesday, many of whom are retired police and firefighters, were each charged with grand larceny in the second degree and criminal facilitation in the fourth degree.

“Last month’s indictment was the first step in ending a massive fraud against American taxpayers,” Vance said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, dozens of additional defendants have been charged with fabricating psychiatric conditions in order to fraudulently obtain Social Security disability insurance, a critically important social safety net reserved for those truly in need.”

Esposito, who has been collecting a police pension following his retirement from the NYPD, and the others, Vance said, are accused of “gaming the system by lying about their lifestyle, including their ability to work, drive, handle money, shop, and socialize, in order to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled.

According to prosecutors, some of those arrested lied about their health suffering following work they did on or after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Their lies were repetitive and extensive,” the DA continued.

Under the U.S. Social Security law, individuals who qualify as disabled are entitled to SSDI payments only if they suffer from a disability that prevents them from assuming any job available to them in the national economy. The payment amount varies per recipient, but the average annual payment is approximately $30,000 to $50,000 for each recipient.

According to documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court, from approximately January 1988 to December 2013, the four principal defendants – Joseph Esposito, Raymond Lavallee, 83; Thomas Hale, 89; and John Minerva, 61 – are accused of allegedly directing SSDI applications, including many retirees of the NYPD and FDNY, to lie about their psychiatric conditions in order to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled, Vance said. The alleged operators of the scam then received cash payments in return for coaching the applicants.

The 28 individuals arrested Tuesday allegedly claimed that they suffered from a psychiatric condition that prevented them from working, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or depression, according to the DA. Some of the defendants used their association with the events of Sept. 11, 2001 as the ostensible cause of their condition, Vance said.

Edward Ryan, the special agent-in-charge of the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, said the federal government will continue to investigate this fraud and asked individuals to contact them regarding such crimes at a special hotline set up specifically for the investigation: (800) 471-6012. (By Anna Gustafson)

(By Jonathan Bandler, Oct 7, 2014)
The Police Beat.

A retired New York City police officer from Yorktown facing charges of fraudulently collecting more than $300,000 in federal disability pay while working for Tourneau had previously worked for an Elmsford armored car company – also while claiming to be too injured to work.
James Carson was director of security at American Armored Car Co. from the mid-1990s until the early 2000s, The Journal News has learned.
But since 1990, when he began getting Social Security after a slip-and-fall accident wrenched his back and forced his retirement from the NYPD, Carson should not have been doing any work. He repeatedly claimed he wasn't working on federal eligibility forms, according to the criminal complaint against him.
Carson, 50, was released on $600,000 bond following his appearance Oct. 1 in federal court in Manhattan. He was arrested that morning at his home and charged with theft of government property, making false statements and failing to report income. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The charges covered in the complaint relate to the past 10 years, when Carson collected $306,000 in Social Security disability benefits while working at Tourneau. During that time, Carson won a prestigious award from the National Retail Federation in 2010 for solving a scheme in which two company managers made nearly $700,000 in fraudulent credit card purchases.
Carson declined to answer questions about the charges or about his work at the armored car company when he answered the door at his home Monday.
Tourneau representatives have not returned several phone messages.
Carson is accused of hiding income – as much as $138,000 a year – by having Tourneau pay his wages to a corporation, JACC Security, based at his home. The corporation then paid the wages to Carson's wife, Carmen, the chief executive officer of the corporation. The money was then listed as her wages in the couple's annual joint tax returns, according to the complaint.
It was unclear whether a similar payment scheme was in place for any employment before Tourneau.
Former co-workers at the armored car company said they recognized Carson from media coverage of his arrest last week.
American Armored Car Co. shut down more than five years ago. One of its owners, Dominick Colasuonno, served two years in federal prison after he and his brother were convicted in 2007 of tax fraud for failing to pay payroll taxes for employees of the armored car company and bank fraud related to their check cashing company
Colasuonno could not be reached for comment.
Federal authorities would not confirm whether they knew about Carson's earlier employment or whether he could face additional charges related to the disability funds he collected while working for American Armored Car. Since 1990, he has collected more than $650,000 in Social Security disability.
"(We) cannot confirm or deny allegations of Mr. Carson's alleged work activity prior to 2004, however the investigation is ongoing," said Special Agent in Charge Edward Ryan of the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General.
Carson filled out Report of Continuing Disability forms in 1995 and 1998, according to the criminal complaint. In them, he agreed that he would notify the Social Security Administration if his medical condition improved and he returned to work and acknowledged that lying on those forms was a federal crime.
Carson was already under investigation in April when he showed up limping and walking with a cane for an interview regarding his continued receipt of benefits. He claimed that he had not worked since the date of his slip-and-fall in 1990 due to his back pain. On forms he filled out, Carson denied having any income since his disability began; said he rarely drives; and doesn't go anywhere on a regular basis.
But throughout the spring and early summer, Special Agent Peter Dowd chronicled Carson's regular comings and goings between his home and Tourneau's Long Island City office. Dowd said he observed Carson himself driving and saw closed-circuit video of Carson walking up stairs from the garage "without apparent difficulty and without a cane."
Besides the Social Security and salary Carson was collecting, he also got an annual disability pension for his seven years with the NYPD that is now $42,134, according to the New York City Police Pension Fund.