New York Man Pays $60K Restitution to State Insurance Fund

A 55-year-old man from Tioga County, New York was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay $60,000 in restitution to the New York State Insurance Fund for fraudulently accepting workers’ compensation benefits while operating a snow plowing business.

Robert L. Rich, of 566 Prospect Valley Rd., Willseyville, pleaded guilty to charges of grand larceny and committing fraud and was ordered to serve five years’ probation.

Rich was arrested in March following an investigation by the New York State Insurance Department.

Investigators found that Rich operated a snow plowing business after claiming he could not work because of a back injury he suffered when employed by an asphalt company in 2001. Rich was accused of filing 19 statements with the Insurance Fund falsely claiming his injury prevented him from working.