Allegation of Pension and Disability Fraud
A New York Times investigation in 2008 showed that more than 90% of Long Island Rail Road employees who had retired since 2000 were receiving disability payments from the federal Railroad Retirement Board, collectively totalling more than $250,000,000 over 8 years.
As a result, Railroad Retirement Agents from Chicago inspected the Long Island office of the Railroad Retirement Board on September 23, 2008. New York Governor David Paterson issued a statement calling for Congress to conduct a full review of the Board's mission and daily activities. Officials at the Board's headquarters responded to the investigation stating that all Occupational Disability annuities were issued in accordance with applicable laws.
On November 17, 2008, a former LIRR pension manager was arrested and charged with official misconduct for performing outside work without permission. However, these charges were all dismissed for "no merit" by Supreme Court Judge Kase on December 11, 2009 on the grounds that the prosecution had misled the Grand Jury in the indictment.
A report produced in September 2009 by the Government Accountability Office stated that the rate at which retirees were rewarded disability claims was above the norm for the industry in general and indicated "troubling" practices that may indicate fraud, such as the use of a very small group of physicians in making the diagnosis.
Another series of arrests on Oct 27, 2011 included two doctors and a former union official.
Read more about this topic: Long Island Rail Road
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