Claimant Pays $7,880 Restitution After Work Comp Fraud Conviction

Friday, June 16, 2017 | 0

A New York claimant who was caught working while receiving workers’ compensation benefits paid $7,880 in restitution under the terms of a conditional discharge, the New York Inspector General’s Office announced. 

JoAnne Cardona of Geneseo pleaded guilty in April to a felony count of workers’ compensation fraudulent practices. 

Cardona, 48, had been receiving workers’ compensation benefits since 2003 after she allegedly injured her neck, shoulder and upper back when an elderly resident fell on her while she worked at an Amsterdam nursing home. 

In 2013, Cardona began working for at the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester, but she repeatedly submitted documentation to New York State Insurance Fund stating that she was not working in any capacity, prosecutors say. Cardona also falsely testified at a State Workers’ Compensation Board hearing in September 2014 that she had not worked in any capacity before June 2014, the Inspector General’s Office said.