Health Insurance Fraud Case Linked to Identity Theft

NEW YORK, NY (09/16/2009)(readMedia)-- A Bronx man with no medical insurance who used a stolen identity to obtain $70,000 in medical treatments and sue a landlord for injuries he suffered when he fell from a fire escape has been arrested following an investigation by the New York State Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau.

State police arrested Rasheem Tolliver, 27, on Sept. 2 after he admitted using a former acquaintance's identity after falling from a fire escape to get into his mother's locked apartment in January 2007. Tolliver assumed the other person's identity without the individual's knowledge.

Investigators said Tolliver, who was uninsured, received emergency care and follow-up medical treatments for leg injuries under the assumed identity. Tolliver is also accused of using the stolen identity to file a negligence lawsuit against the landlord. He claimed that he suffered his injuries when he fell on an interior stairway.

The investigation was begun when Technology Insurance Company, the landlord's insurance company, contacted the Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau after discovering discrepancies in the lawsuit. That led investigators to look into health insurance claims Tolliver filed with Fidelis Healthcare, his former acquaintance's health insurer.

Charges of identity theft, insurance fraud and falsifying business records were filed against Tolliver, who was released pending a hearing in Westchester County Court. If he is convicted, Tolliver could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

The office of Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore is prosecuting the case.

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