The New York state inspector general’s office identified $2.7 million in workers’ compensation fraud during 2024, resulting in 14 arrests, a 30% increase from the year prior, according to its annual report released Tuesday.

Inspector General Lucy Lang in the report noted that more than $1.4 million in restitution and fines were awarded to defrauded state agencies, insurers, and employers – also representing an increase in enforcement outcomes across the board compared to 2023.

Among those investigated were:

• A Brooklyn-based medical billing provider that diverted over $1.9 million from 13 insurers, including more than $1.3 million from the New York State Insurance Fund alone, intended as payments to surgeons caring for workers’ compensation claimants.
• A Saratoga-based paving company owner operating a business with multiple employees without obtaining workers’ compensation coverage whose conduct came to light following the sustaining of an on-the-job injury by one of his employees.
• A United Parcel Service (UPS) employee working as a high school soccer coach while out of work collecting wage indemnity benefits from an alleged back injury.

In addition, the office investigated a state correction officer found to be working as a bus driver while collecting lost wage benefits stemming from an alleged work injury, which resulted in a guilty plea and more than $50,000 in restitution.

Lang credited an extensive public outreach through various television, print, radio, podcasts, online publications, task forces, and trainings, which resulted in 1,436 complaints alleging fraud by medical providers, employers, and claimants through those platforms.

“The workers’ compensation system is a vital protection for workers who are legitimately injured on the job, and its exploitation adds insult to injury,” Lang said in a statement. “Thank you to the Board for their partnership in fighting fraud over the past year and going forward.”