Uncovering Abuse In The Ticket Industry
Ever wondered why you’ve had trouble purchasing tickets to see your favorite performer? A new report issued by the Attorney General has answers. The wide-ranging, three year investigation found that consumers are often prevented from accessing tickets at affordable prices – or even accessing them at all. Pre-sale tickets, high fees and ticket bots which snatch up tickets that are subsequently sold at higher prices all make the ticketing industry a fixed game. This investigation is just the beginning of the Attorney General’s efforts to create a level playing field in the ticket industry.
Protecting New Yorkers Against Scams
New Yorkers should be wary of telephone scammers posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service. The Attorney General recently received an uptick in complaints on these scams, which often target seniors, students, and first-generation Americans. The scam typically involves a caller holding themselves out as an IRS agent or representative from the Attorney General’s office inquiring about a past due tax balance that is owed. The caller will state that unless the debt is paid immediately, a team of officers will come to the victim’s home that day to arrest the victim. New Yorkers should remember that IRS and legitimate government agencies never demand payment by phone. If you think you are being scammed, remember that you can always say no and hang up the phone. The Attorney General urges anyone who thinks they have been the victim of fraud to immediately contact his office.
Protecting Medicaid Against Fraudulent Billing
A Capital Region transportation company will repay Medicaid more than $1 million for overbilling the program. Over several years, Advantage Transit Group submitted reimbursements for transportation services that were not rendered. Many New Yorkers rely on Medicaid for essential health care services, and when companies take advantage of the program, it burdens taxpayers and patients alike. The Attorney General will continue to identify abuses and put Medicaid money back where it belongs.
Stopping Abuse Of Nursing Home Residents
The Attorney General announced the arrest of a Buffalo area social worker for allegedly pushing a nursing home patient to the ground. The alleged incident, caught on video surveillance, shows Susan Sanborn pushing the resident and then kicking the resident’s legs out of the way of the exit door as she left the unit. It is charged that Sanborn did not wait with the resident for medical assistance and did not return to check on the wellbeing of the resident. The Attorney General will not tolerate anyone being abused by those responsible for their care.
Battling Public Corruption
With Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the Attorney General announced the guilty plea of Robert Wiesner, the former Security Director for the Monroe County Water Authority, for working with others to rig the bidding process for a multi-million dollar public works contract in Monroe County. Wiesner and other individuals were initially charged with a scheme to rig the bidding process for a number of multi-million dollar public works contracts in Monroe County. Wiesner admitted that he acted in concert with others between March 2008 and approximately October 2013, to rig the bidding process of Monroe County for a $212 million public safety contract.
