Malverne resident charged with fraud

A Malverne man who is an official in the union that represents New York City police detectives has been charged with joining three others in organizing a Social Security disability scheme that prompted 80 retired city firefighters and police officers to lie about their mental conditions and fake symptoms to obtain benefits to which they were not entitled, Manhattan prosecutors said on Jan 7.

The indictment, brought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., charges a total of 106 people, four of whom are accused of running the scheme.

The Malverne resident was identified in court papers as John Minerva, 61. The other three charged with running the scheme are attorney Raymond Lavallee, 83, of Massapequa, a former assistant Nassau County district attorney; pension consultant Thomas Hale, 89, of Bellmore; and retired NYPD officer Joseph Esposito, 64, of Valley Stream.

Minerva, a retired NYPD detective, is accused of obtaining psychiatrists’ and psychologists’ diagnoses of conditions that would warrant the payment of Social Security disability benefits. Prosecutors claim that he obtained cash kickbacks directly from those who were granted the benefits, and that he shared the money with his three co-conspirators. They received kickbacks of more than $28,000 from each applicant, money that was taken from the recipients’ first check from the Social Security Administration, prosecutors said.

Investigators seized $60,000 from Minerva’s Malverne home and another $325,000 from his safe deposit box.

Each of the four ringleaders, including Minerva, was charged with first- and second-degree grand larceny and second-degree attempted grand larceny.

Court papers allege that the 106 defendants collected between $30,000 and $50,000 annually after fabricating claims that they were incapacitated by serious psychiatric disorders brought on by their jobs. Many claimed that their conditions — including post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression — developed after they responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.