Dance Instructor Fined $750, Ordered to Make Restitution

NEW YORK, NY (01/04/2011)(readMedia)-- A Poughkeepsie man was fined $750 and ordered to pay $23,400 in restitution for illegally collecting no-fault insurance benefits while working as a dance instructor.

Steven Blackmon, 37, of Stout Court, was sentenced in Poughkeepsie City Court after pleading guilty to fifth degree insurance fraud on Dec. 23.

Blackmon was arrested following an investigation by the New York State Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau.

The investigation found that Blackmon fraudulently collected no-fault insurance lost wage benefits from New York Central Mutual Insurance Company after a car accident in 2009. He claimed he was physically unable to work because of the accident. Yet, at the same time, he worked as a dance instructor at multiple locations.

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