A man on Staten Island who obtained Workers' compensation for falsifying positive results for testing positive for the new coronavirus was charged with major theft, insurance fraud, falsification of business records and workers' compensation fraud after the East Window incident.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York State last March, the virus ravaged nursing homes, causing a large number of infections. Ajani Shaw, a 23-year-old man from Staten Island involved, was working part-time in the kitchen of the island's Seaview Nursing Home.
According to Lucy Lang, NYS Inspector General of New York, Shaw filed his first work injury claim for covid-19 shortly after the outbreak last year. On April 3, Shaw submitted an "unemployment" note signed by a doctor at a clinic in Shidao, and on April 8, he submitted his COVID-19 test positive results to the insurance company. As a result, the insurance company began to pay Shaw 150 yuan in workers' compensation every week.
Shaw then emailed other documents to the insurance company in support of expanding his claim. According to State Inspector General Lucy Leung, Shaw submitted six other positive COVID-19 test results and "unemployment" records between May 8 and August 8 last year, and until July 24 of that year, Shaw continued to receive workers' compensation benefits. However, the insurance company found that the sample IDs used on multiple positive test results he submitted were suspicious.
After launching an investigation, officials determined that Only two positive test results submitted by Xiao in April last year were true. The survey also revealed that Shaw made only two appointments with doctors in April last year and did not appear at the clinic since then, and did not reappear until august last year.
Investigators also found that a note submitted by Shaw in June to quarantine for four weeks was also fake, and that the results of the six positive tests he submitted to the insurance company were all fake. As a result of these false documents, Shaw received a total of $1,761 in workers' compensation. Shaw passed the court on the 18th and was charged with major theft, insurance fraud, forged business records and workers' compensation fraud.
In response, State Inspector General Lucy Leung said workers' compensation insurance is critical to the success of New York State's workforce and businesses, especially in times of crisis. She thanked the Staten Island District Attorney's Office for its cooperation in ensuring the integrity of that important security guarantee.