Albany Woman Draws Prison for Comp Fraud
June 27, 2011
An Albany, N.Y., woman was sentenced to spend 1 to 3 years in state prison on Thursday, June 23, and ordered to pay $43,405 in restitution, based on false claims she made concerning a neck injury, Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced.
Kelly Woods, 23, admitted that she lied to doctors, the New York State Insurance Fund, and the State Workers' Compensation Board by claiming that she was suffering a permanent flexion of her neck at a 90-degree angle.
She claimed her condition was the result of a workplace accident at a local construction firm based in Colonie, N.Y.
Woods was caught during video surveillance moving her head and neck normally, according to prosecutors.
Albany County DA Soares said Woods later fled to Utah and had to be extradited back to New York.
In March, she pleaded guilty to third-degree insurance fraud. NYSIF said the prosecution saved more than $591,000 in future benefits.