Bartender Ordered to Pay Nearly $26,000 for Workers' Comp Fraud

An Elmira bartender who defrauded the New York workers’ compensation system has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution. James Hooks Jr., 57, worked as a weekend bartender at Ramsey’s Place in Elmira despite telling his insurer that was not working anywhere because of injuries sustained in 1994 while working at a grocery store, New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott said in a press release. Under state law, employers are required to maintain workers’ compensation coverage for their employees, and employees a...