Former Nurse's Aide Charged With Comp Fraud

                               
New York, NY (CompNewsNetwork) - A former nursing home employee from Tioga County has been charged with workers' compensation fraud for allegedly obtaining $8,858 from the New York State Insurance Fund illegally.

Susan Thornton, 49, of Spencer, NY, faces felony charges of violating the Workers' Compensation Law and offering a false instrument for filing following her arrest by the New York State Police and NYS Insurance Frauds Bureau on March 10.

Investigators from NYSIF's Division of Confidential Investigations said Ms. Thornton began receiving workers' compensation benefits for a back injury she reported in 1993 after attempting to lift a patient while she was employed as a nurse's aide at the Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home in Ithaca, NY, in Tompkins County.

Investigators said Ms. Thornton returned signed statements to NYSIF indicating she had not returned to any form of work. In an attempt to obtain a lump sum settlement of her claim, Ms. Thornton also stated that she had not performed any work or received compensation from any employment since her injury, investigators said.

During the investigation, assisted by the Insurance Dept. Frauds Bureau and the Office of the Workers' Compensation Board Fraud Inspector General, it is alleged that Ms. Thornton was self-employed cleaning houses, while receiving wage replacement benefits to which she was not entitled totaling $8,858.
 
As a result of her arrest, NYSIF estimated the potential future savings on Ms. Thornton's claim to be $40,239.

Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations only. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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