AG: Oyster Bay man stole $800G from nonprofit medical provider
John Cornachio, 63, of Oyster Bay, was sentenced to two to six years in prison Friday, March 23, 2018, for defrauding taxpayers, prosecutors said. Credit: NYS Attorney General’s Office
An Oyster Bay man was sentenced Friday to 2 to 6 years in prison for defrauding taxpayers by using a no-show job to steal from a nonprofit medical provider, state officials said.
John Cornachio, 63, was convicted last month of second-degree grand larceny in connection with a scam that bilked Narco Freedom Inc., a former Medicaid-funded firm based in the Bronx, out of $800,000 in salary, benefits and perks. The firm was founded to provide substance abuse services across New York City.
Cornachio must also pay $840,000 in restitution to the New York State Medicaid Fraud Restitution Fund, according to Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.
“Stealing from Medicaid harms both our most vulnerable residents and New York taxpayers,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
Cornachio’s attorney, Brian Davis of Garden City, said his client was free, pending appeal.
“We are hoping for a reversal,” Davis said.
Cornachio was found guilty of conspiring with Alan Brand, former chief executive of Narco Freedom, to collect more than $500,000 in salary and benefits during a five-year period. As part of Cornachio’s “no-show” job, Narco Freedom provided him with wages, health insurance, retirement benefits and a car allowance that he used to lease a Land Rover, officials said.
Cornachio received another $300,000 through fabricated invoices for services submitted by B&C Management, a bogus shell company with no actual business, which listed some of Cornachio’s minor children as substance-abuse counselors, prosecutors said.
In 2015, Schneiderman’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit indicted Cornachio, Brand, Narco Freedom Inc., and 12 other people and corporations on charges of defrauding the state Medicaid program. All of those defendants have been convicted of crimes, including enterprise corruption, grand larceny and filing false information with government offices, prosecutors said.
The attorney general’s office also sued Narco Freedom, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2016. A bankruptcy court approved a settlement that will distribute $118 million among its creditors, including New York State and the federal government.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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