Volunteer Firefighter and Wife Facing Fraud Charges

Tuesday, November 3, 2015 | 0

An upstate New York volunteer firefighter and his wife face felony fraud charges after investigators discovered the husband had responded to 177 fire and rescue calls while collecting $45,000 in workers' compensation benefits over two years, according to a report by the Buffalo News.

James J. Moreland, 66, and his wife, Shirley Moreland, 65, have filed a motion to dismiss the charges and rejected an offer by prosecutors to plead to misdemeanors, according to the newspaper. A Niagara County grand jury indicted both in August on workers' compensation fraud and filing false instruments. Prosecutors said both Morelands made false statements about James Moreland not doing volunteer work.

James Moreland also faces two first-degree perjury charges. They have pleaded not guilty.

James Moreland was injured in 2008 while working for Reed Blacktopping of Pendleton, New York. Prosecutors said he fraudulently collected benefits from the New York State Insurance Fund from April 2009 through June 2011.
 
Moreland's attorney, Robert Viola, told the Buffalo News that James Moreland did not do physical work when he went out on calls because the fire department worked with his restrictions. "He basically brought coffee to the guys who were fighting fires," Viola told the newspaper.

Niagara County Supreme Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III is expected to rule on the Morelands' motion to dismiss on Nov. 25.