Frauds, beware. Snitches have flooded a new hot line to report bogus claims against the city – and now about 100 cases are under investigation.
Last month, city Comptroller William Thompson hit the airwaves in a TV and radio campaign asking New Yorkers to call a confidential hot line to report the fraudulent claims.
“I’m pleased that so many New Yorkers saw it as their civic duty to pick up the phone and call or e-mail my office to report illegal activities that could hurt their fellow taxpayers,” he said.
“We can’t let fraudulent claims pickpocket New York City.”
The city shells out an estimated $60 million a year for false claims. Thompson said most of the calls have come from ex-spouses and neighbors.
There’s no reward offered for any leads that pan out, but Thompson said he hopes New Yorkers will call out of the goodness of their hearts.
State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer recently proposed a bill that would not only increase fines for committing fraud – it would give whistleblowers a financial incentive to snitch.
While the hot line has received its share of hang-ups and wrong numbers, hundreds of calls came in with credible complaints, Thompson said.
Many of the calls were to report people who were hurt on private property but falsified the accident report to make it look like they got hurt while on city property.
Others reported city pensioners who are collecting disability even though they are able to work.
And some have called to report so-called double-dippers – people who file the same claim against the city and against an insurance company.
There have also been some reports of fraud related to Sept. 11.
No specific details about the claims were available.
“We’re now investigating many of the tips about potential fraud and will continue to pursue them aggressively,” Thompson said.
Anyone with a tip is urged to call (212) 669-4747, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or e-mail claimfraud@comptroller.nyc.gov.
All tips are confidential.
Mayor Bloomberg has made tort reform one of his top priorities. He has proposed legislation that would make it harder to sue the city, but it sat in the City Council for months.
Late last month, the two sides agreed to a budget deal that included a promise by Speaker Gifford Miller to push the mayor’s tort-reform package to the top of the council’s agenda.
Right now, the city is solely liable – to the tune of more than $70 million a year – for “slip and fall” accidents on sidewalks.
Bloomberg and the council agreed that property owners should be responsible – with one-, two- and three-family homes exempted.
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Know someone who’s filing a false claim against the city? Call (212) 669-4747
24 hours a day, seven days a week, or e-mail claimfraud@comptroller.nyc.gov