Sunday, January 10, 2016

Uber Settlement, Gun Violence & More From Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman


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Enhancing Data Privacy For Uber Passengers

The Attorney General announced a settlement with Uber that requires the company to adopt leading data security protection practices to protect its riders’ personal information. The Attorney General’s investigation began after several public reports that Uber executives and staff have access to riders’ geo-location information in real time. The settlement requires Uber to encrypt rider geo-location information, adopt multi-factor authentication that would be required before any employee could access especially sensitive rider personal information, as well as other leading data security practices.  It also requires Uber to pay a $20,000 penalty for failure to provide timely notice to drivers and the Attorney General’s office regarding a data breach that occurred in September 2014. 

Bringing Drug Runners To Justice

The leader of a major Capital Region drug ring has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Daquan Murray, aka “Benji Got The Juice,” was part of a Troy Gang called the Young Gunnerz, who allegedly purchased large quantities of drugs from a supplier in the Bronx, and then brought the narcotics back to Troy for distribution throughout Albany County, Rensselaer County, Saratoga County, and elsewhere in and outside of New York State. The case against the Young Gunnerz gang has resulted in criminal charges against 21 defendants. To date, 15 have pleaded guilty. 

Protecting Competition In Elder Care

Competition among health service providers is critical for New Yorkers, which is why the Attorney General has reached a settlement with UnitedHealth Group resolving concerns that the company’s business practices in the state unlawfully restrained competition in the market for certain elder and long-term care insurance products. The Attorney General’s office had received complaints that UnitedHealth was requiring skilled nursing facilities looking to participate in its insurance network to also contract with the company for a separate institutional special needs plan. This settlement will preserve the vibrant competition among institutional special needs providers, and will ensure freedom of choice for skilled nursing facilities and their patients. 

Protecting Access To Abortion Services

The Attorney General is leading a coalition of 13 states urging the Supreme Court to protect the constitutional right to access abortion services. The friend-of-the-court brief asks the Court to invalidate two provisions of Texas law that significantly restrict access to abortion services in the state. The provisions at issue—requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and requiring clinics to comply with the standards for surgical clinics—were purportedly enacted to protect the health of women, but the trial court found that the provisions would not in fact protect women’s health, and could even undermine it. The Attorney General is committed to ensuring that all women have free access to a full range of reproductive health care services. 

Uncovering Nursing Home Neglect

 The Attorney General announced the guilty plea of the Mohawk Valley Health Care Center over allegations of a cover-up of resident abuse and neglect. The plea resolves allegations arising from the suppression of two incidents of patient abuse and neglect, and related charges of falsifying records. One alleged incident involved a medication error that went unnoticed for several days, while the second alleged incident involved a resident suffering from dementia engaging in unlawful sexual conduct towards another resident in an unsupervised dining room. When these incidents came to light, it is alleged that owner Gerald “Jerry” Wood III criminally eavesdropped on investigators from the Attorney General’s Office while they were conducting an interview with a nursing home employee about the incidents. The Attorney General is committed to holding nursing facilities accountable for their responsibility to treat patients with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Stopping The Theft Of State Pension Benefits

The Attorney General and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced the sentencing of Terence Fitzpatrick for stealing more than $78,000 in state pension benefits. Fitzpatrick, a resident of New Jersey, was accused of stealing the benefits issued to his deceased godfather, Thomas Sullivan, who died in 2003. Fitzpatrick, who had been acting as power of attorney on behalf of Sullivan, failed to notify the retirement system of the death of his godfather or his wife, who had received Sullivan’s benefits until 2006.  Instead, Fitzpatrick utilized his power of attorney to access the account and withdraw pension benefits paid on Sullivan’s behalf during a six-year period between November 2006 and August 2012. 

Taking Down An Insurance Brokerage Fraud Scheme

Two Rochester residents have been arrested for allegedly perpetrating a scheme to defraud clients of their Rochester insurance brokerage. It is alleged that over a period of 3 years, Gary and Bonnie Gubiotti stole from agency clients by falsely inflating insurance premiums, failing to remit refunds, and forging finance agreements. It is charged that in total, the duo stole more than $150,000 from clients, and both face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted. New Yorkers trust their insurance brokers to provide them with honest advice and coverage in the event of an emergency, and violating that trust to line one’s own pockets will be prosecuted by the Attorney General to the fullest extent of the law. 

Protecting Medicaid Against Fraud

Schenectady personal care aid Nicholas Gallup has been sentenced for submitting false time sheets to Capital District Physicians Health Plan, causing more than $1,000 in overcharges to Medicaid. Gallup with a co-defendant, allegedly failed to provide services to a Medicaid recipient over a period of three months, and even called into a telephone time-keeping system to falsely document that they had provided care for the Medicaid recipient. In a separate case, a Rochester nurse, Schmeka Morgan, will return more than $8,000 to Medicaid for fraudulently billing Medicaid hours that she did not work. Morgan also faces three years’ probation as a result of her actions. 
Have a question, comment, or complaint? Click here. You can also learn more about the various initiatives of the Attorney General's office by visiting our website at ag.ny.gov


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