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Business
Payback Time: NY Delivery Drivers Will Get Cut Of $4M Settlement Over Withheld Tips Payback Time: NY Delivery Drivers Will Get Cut Of $4M Settlement Over Withheld Tips
Payback Time: NY Delivery Drivers Will Get Cut Of $4M Settlement Over Withheld Tips Thousands of local delivery drivers are in for a much-deserved payday. Drizly, a now-defunct alcohol delivery platform, reached a $4 million settlement with the State of New York on Tuesday, Dec. 17, for failing to ensure that delivery workers received their rightful tips. According to New York Attorney General Leitita James, Drizly encouraged customers to tip delivery workers but sent the funds to liquor store owners instead. Store owners were responsible for distributing the tips, but in many cases, workers did not receive the money they earned. The investigation also revealed that Driz…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
$4.4M Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Five Plead Guilty, NY AG Says $4.4M Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Five Plead Guilty, NY AG Says
$4.4M Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Five Plead Guilty, NY AG Says Five Hudson Valley and Capital Region residents and seven transportation companies have admitted to stealing millions from Medicaid. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday, Dec. 5, that five have pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4.4 million from New York’s Medicaid program through fake billing, illegal kickbacks, and engaging in money laundering and other fraudulent schemes to conceal their crimes.  Muhammad Rizwan Khan, 38, Muhammad Usman Khan, 40, and Farhan Khan, 29, all of Orange County, and their related companies pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Or…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
$9.6M Scheme: NY Businessman Admits To Bank Fraud Conspiracy $9.6M Scheme: NY Businessman Admits To Bank Fraud Conspiracy
$9.6M Scheme: NY Businessman Admits To Bank Fraud Conspiracy The owner of a New York business admitted to running a multimillion-dollar check-kiting scheme to keep his company operating. Long Island resident John B. Mensch, age 54, pleaded guilty in connection with a nearly year-long fraud conspiracy involving banks in Suffolk County and the Hudson Valley, federal authorities announced Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 2. Mensch, of Quogue, faces up to five years’ imprisonment as well as financial penalties, including restitution to the two banks of approximately $9.6 million. According to court filings, Mensch was the owner and operator of East End, a…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes
Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes A Capital Region ex-school counselor will spend 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Related: Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region Filmed Sexually Explicit Content Of Child For Years Albany County resident Kristy Lynne Koldis, age 46, of Latham, was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 3, said US Attorney for the Northern District Of New York Carla Freedman. In previously pleading guilty, Koldis admitted that she created sexually explicit content depicting the lewd and lascivious exhibition of the victim's genitals from the time the child was nine …

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by Kathy Reakes
Business
$2M Con Job: NY Contractor Admits Defrauding Victims Of Hurricane Sandy $2M Con Job: NY Contractor Admits Defrauding Victims Of Hurricane Sandy
$2M Con Job: NY Contractor Admits Defrauding Victims Of Hurricane Sandy A former New York contractor confessed to stealing millions of dollars from homeowners who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy to fund his lavish lifestyle. Alexander Almaraz, age 56, who formerly lived on Long Island in Freeport, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in Central Islip federal court on Thursday, Sept. 5. Prosecutors said Almaraz, who owned Design Concepts Group (DCG) in Freeport, targeted homeowners who suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and later received relief funds from the governor’s office. Earlier Report: Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar,…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Ex-NY Attorney Who Stole $800K From Clients Gets Prison Time Ex-NY Attorney Who Stole $800K From Clients Gets Prison Time
Ex-NY Attorney Who Stole $800K From Clients Gets Prison Time A former New York attorney is heading to prison after confessing that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients. Former Long Island resident Douglas Valente, age 57, now of Florida, was sentenced to between one and four years in prison in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, Aug. 22. Prosecutors said Valente, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group in Stony Brook, stole more than $800,000 from three former clients by taking money from his escrow account. Earlier Report: Former NY Attorney Stole Nearly $1M From Clients, DA Says Among the victims was a cl…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
$1.6M Fraud Scheme: Capital Region Man Admits Role In Unemployment Insurance Scam $1.6M Fraud Scheme: Capital Region Man Admits Role In Unemployment Insurance Scam
$1.6M Fraud Scheme: Capital Region Man Admits Role In Unemployment Insurance Scam A man from the region admitted to taking part in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that targeted unemployment insurance benefits. Rensselaer County resident Todd Ward, age 45, of Troy, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) in Albany federal court in late June 2024. Prosecutors said Ward confessed to providing co-conspirator Carl DiVeglia with the personal identifying information of another individual, which DiVeglia then used to file a false claim on the NYSDOL website. Earlier Report: Former State Employee From Albany Pleads Guilty…

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by Michael Mashburn