New York

Adam Arena of Buffalo, N.Y., and Amanda Gloria of Altus, Okla., both 44, were arrested for fraudulently obtaining and laundering COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. Arena and Gloria allegedly conspired together to fraudulently obtain and misuse almost $1 million in PPP loans. Court documents...

Defrauding a lifeline program like Medicaid or Medicare is immoral. Doing so while dispensing controlled substances that carry high risk of addiction and the potential to be lethal is beyond evil. (But oh, so alluring to fraudsters, because the repeat business is so lucrative.) The...

George William Doumar’s Oregon mailbox business came in handy, once he decided to fraudulently cash in on his aunt’s Social Security benefits. In the late 1980s, he changed his aunt’s address from New York to Klamath Falls, with her benefit checks coming to his...

There’s fraud, worse fraud, and then there’s healthcare fraud that endangers patients. James Spina, a chiropractor from Middletown, New York, embraced them all in a scheme that cost Medicare and other insurers millions of dollars in fraudulent claims—and left the one unfortunate patient dead. Spina...

Former U.S. Postal Service employee Christine O’Neill, of Johnson City, N.Y., has been sentenced for committing workers compensation fraud. She will serve three years on probation for profiting from baking cookies and cakes, while also receiving federal workers compensation payments. O’Neill ran her own baking...

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since 9-1-1 rocked the world. What’s also unimaginable is that it has taken almost that long to bust Dr. Raymond Pierre Paul, a Nassau County, N.Y., psychiatrist for carrying out a major Social Security disability...

Sean M. Andre, 30, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is accused of working with Jean R. Lavanture, 48, of Saugerties, N.Y., to fraudulently obtain more than $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans meant for businesses financially struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Fraudsters are...

A pain management doctor from Buffalo, N.Y., has been added to the growing list of medical professionals who have contributed to the nation’s opioid crisis. Dr. Gautam Arora pleaded guilty to prescribing controlled substances with the purpose of defrauding a federal healthcare program. Between April...

The purpose of Paid Time Off (PTO) is to give employees a break from work. It can be used for vacation, to take care of someone during an illness, appointments, school, volunteering, or perhaps binge-watching Netflix. Kyle Bouille of Elmira, N.Y., took a different...

It’s always interesting to see what illegal actions a fraudster is willing to take to make a little bit of cash. A Randolph, N.Y., woman was willing to trade her freedom for a few thousand dollars in illegally gained workers’ compensation benefits. (Why do...