Firefighter Double-Dipped and Avoided Comp for His Own Workers, DA Says

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 | 0

A New York firefighter has been arrested for alleged workers' comp fraud on both ends: He was found to be working while collecting benefits, and he failed to provide comp insurance for his own company's employees, authorities said.

Raphael Ziegler, 41, of Monsey, New York, a volunteer firefighter and former fire inspector, is charged with fraud and theft of more than $100,000 in workers' compensation benefits and Medicaid payments, New York Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott and the local district attorney announced Thursday.

“As a safety and law enforcement officer for both New York state and the Village of New Hempstead, Mr. Ziegler's behavior is particularly egregious,” said acting Rockland County District Attorney Kevin Gilleece.

Ziegler was employed at the state-run Rockland Psychiatric Center as a safety and security officer in 2016 when he suffered a work-related injury, prosecutors said. While he was on disability leave and collecting indemnity benefits, he told authorities that he was not working, but investigators say they determined that he worked as a New Hempstead code enforcement officer, a hazmat instructor, and ran and drove for his own taxi business, ferrying Medicaid recipients to medical appointments.

State law requires that companies receiving Medicaid funding for transportation obtain comp insurance before billing the program, something Ziegler's company did not do, prosecutors said.

Ziegler also responded to 44 calls as a Monsey volunteer firefighter while he collected benefits, authorities said.

Ziegler was arraigned in court in the Town of Ramapo and released on his own recognizance. His court has been set for March 28.