New York Police Officer Faces Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges

A New York man has been arrested for workers’ compensation fraud after police say he continued to work at a part time job while receiving workers’ compensation from an injury he incurred at another job.

According to the New York State Insurance Department, 26-year-old Kevin Schwebke of Catskill, New York, suffered an ankle injury in 2009 while working as a corrections officer at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility. After the injury, he began to receive workers’ compensation and stopped work at the facility. However, at the same time that he was receiving benefits for his injury, he was also working a part-time job as a police officer at the Town of Cairo Police Department.

Authorities say that Schebke falsely stated that he could no longer work as an officer after his ankle injury – an example of workers’ comp fraud that could lead to up to seven years in prison. Since 2009, he has accepted $39,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.