FDNY paramedic from Valley Stream charged with insurance fraud

An FDNY paramedic from Valley Stream was among 13 current and former public employees arrested Tuesday for bilking an insurance company out of a half-million dollars, the state attorney general said.

Jose Solis, 34, of Valley Stream, nine other FDNY employees in the emergency medical services department and three NYPD traffic agents allegedly filed false disability insurance claims with the American Family Life Assurance Co., also known as AFLAC, by forging physician’s signatures or supervisor’s signatures, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a news release.

Each defendant was charged with one count of insurance fraud and one count of larceny for allegedly stealing from $3,000 to more than $100,000.

“Public employees are entrusted to adhere to the highest code of conduct. Yet these defendants undermined the public trust in government and the integrity of our insurance system by perpetrating this alleged scheme,” Schneiderman said. “Cracking down on public corruption is a top priority of my office, and we will continue our relentless work with our partners in law enforcement to root out fraud and waste wherever we find it.”

Solis hung up when contacted by a reporter Tuesday. On the second attempt to reach Solis, a woman answered the phone.

“Can you please stop calling. Have a good day,” she said before she hung up.

The scams were discovered by the State Department of Financial Services, which oversees the insurance industry, said Doug Cohen, a spokesman for Schneiderman. The matter was referred to Schneiderman’s office.

Solis, who allegedly stole $27,229, and eight other current employees were suspended after their arrests, Cohen said. Three others resigned and one retired.