Nassau residents scam more than $190,000

Following the arrest last week of Freeport resident Nicole Garcia, a Nassau County Department of Social Services welfare examiner, for diverting funds to clients’ benefit cards, costing the DSS more than $29,000.00, County Executive Ed Mangano announced on Oct. 14 that the DSS Office of Investigations discovered additional individuals attempting to defraud taxpayers — most recently discovering elaborate schemes to cheat the system out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A 34-year-old single mother living in Elmont was part of the investigation. According to the DSS, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General referred the local case after receiving a local tip.

The Elmont woman — whose identity has not been released at this time due to the District Attorney’s ongoing investigation — reported that she was unemployed to the DSS, and the Inspector General had reason to believe she was employed and living with the father of her children. A DSS investigation revealed that the Elmont woman has been living with her children’s father in a home she purchased in 2006 for $453,000. 

According to the DSS, both parents work full-time. Since 2009, the Elmont woman has worked full-time at JFK Airport and currently works part-time at the Green Acres Mall, and the combined unreported income for the parents in 2010 came to more then $338,000. The DSS also said that the woman and her children have received $51,102 in illegal Medicaid benefits.

“As I have stated before, attempts to defraud the hard-working residents of our county will not be tolerated,” Mangano said. “There is no excuse for welfare fraud, and we in Nassau County will continue to protect taxpayers by rooting out those individuals who are not entitled to benefits or who receive benefits through criminal activity.”

In addition to the Elmont case, cases that have been referred to the county D.A.’s office include a 51-year-old East Meadow man who lied about his income and ownership of properties in Manhattan and Flushing, resulting in $65,834 in illegal Medicaid payments for him and his family, and a 59-year-old Westbury man, who illegally obtained $34,346 in Medicaid benefits after concealing income that he received from his neon sign business.

“We provide benefits to eligible residents of Nassau County and it’s unconscionable that individuals try to cheat the system and jeopardize benefits intended for the truly needy,” said DSS Commissioner Dr. John Imhof. “Rest assured — those who defraud Medicaid will be caught, indicted and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”  

Chris Munzing, a spokesman for the D.A.’s office, said that the D.A. is currently working with the DSS to investigate the individuals in question and determine whether crimes have in fact been committed.

To report questionable practices in programs such as Medicaid, Day Care, Food Stamps, Public Assistance and Family Health Plus, call 1-877-711-TIPS (8477). 

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