Corrected: Postmarks Lead to Franklin County Man's Arrest for Fraud

NEW YORK, NY (06/30/2010)(readMedia)-- Florida postmarks on work activity reports mailed by a Franklin County man so he could continue collecting wage replacement benefits led to his arrest Monday for fraud, the New York State Insurance Department reported.

State police arrested Kenneth R. Bullock, 52, of High Street, St. Regis Falls. He is accused of collecting $39,000 in New York workers' compensation benefits while living in Florida and working as a mechanic for a Lakeland, Fla. supermarket chain.

Numerous work activity reports Bullock mailed to the New York State Insurance Fund bearing Florida postmarks aroused suspicions that resulted in an investigation by the Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau, the Insurance Fund and state police.

Surveillance was conducted and investigators found that Bullock, who claimed he was physically unable to work, was employed in Florida. He had begun collecting benefits after suffering a back injury while employed as a truck driver in 1990.

Bullock was charged with insurance fraud, workers' compensation fraud and offering a false instrument for filing. He could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if he is convicted.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert DeMarco in Onondaga County Court. The case is being prosecuted in Onondaga County because it is the location of the Insurance Fund office where Bullock mailed the work activity reports.