NY Bodybuilder arrested for disability fraud

[ajax18]

I'd venture to say there's a lot more disability fraud than is ever caught. It's no wonder there's no money left in the social security lock box that workers were told was a forced government retirement package.

A New York resident was arrested for allegedly obtaining disability benefits by fraud once his wife shared photos of him lifting weights on her Instagram, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday.

In the press release, James announced “the arrest of Anthony Ragusa, 50, of Huntington, NY, for fraudulently collecting more than $200,000 in disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA)”:

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) charged that, from 2013 to 2020, Ragusa falsely represented to the New York state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) that he was unable to work and perform daily activities as a result of injuries caused by a 2013 fall. While collecting disability benefits, and purportedly disabled, Ragusa was still the president and owner of White Star Limousine — where he continued to earn income — and an avid weightlifter, as displayed in numerous social media photos and videos showing him lifting heavy weights on the internet.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, James said, “Disability benefits are for those who need a safety net, not greedy fraud.”

According to James, fraudulently collecting the benefits “was not only a shameful slap in the face to those who actually live with disabilities, but a vast waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The press release continued:

According to the OAG’s filings and statements made by prosecutors, Ragusa applied for disability benefits in 2013. On the application for benefits, Ragusa represented that his injuries from a fall as an electrician were so severe that he had difficulty bending over to put on shoes, walking for more than 15 minutes, and sitting for more than 30 minutes. Ragusa also stated that the pain from his injuries prevented him from working in any capacity.

Investigators reviewed documents obtained from the state Department of Transportation and minutes taken at a town hearing from 2012 showing that at the time of his fall, Ragusa was president and owner of White Star Limousine in New Hyde Park.

“Additionally, extensive video and photographic evidence from Ragusa’s wife’s Instagram account show that, beginning in 2017, Ragusa began a physical transformation into a bodybuilder,” the release said.

Ragusa’s arraignment took place Thursday and he was charged with second-degree larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, according to WFLA.

https://www.breitbart.com/health/2021/0 ... g-weights/

[Chap]

So - a man tried to cheat social security.

He got caught, and is now facing a heavy penalty.

Sounds good to me.

So what?

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Well, for a disabled guy he has a fantastic ass:



- Doc

[Doctor Steuss]

Wearing a weight belt: +3 bodybuilding points.

Wearing a weight belt for a 120lb bar: -10 bodybuilding points.


One of the things that really pisses me off about this is knowing just how many people legitimately need SSDI, and are unable to obtain it. About a year after my MIL was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, we started working on getting her disability (she was 60, so not quite to SS age). She died about 15 months later, and the approval process was still in the works.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Here. I’ll just shortcut Xanax’s reality for everyone:



“It isn't important until it happens to me!"

- Doc

[Chap]

I find this discussion about 'is healthcare a right' beyond weird.

That's not the relevant question. Rather, one should ask 'Would a majority of people in the US like to be able to go to a doctor or to hospital to get treated when they need it without having to worry about huge and potentially bankrupting bills, just like people in the UK and several other advanced countries can, while paying overall considerably less for healthcare than they currently do?'

It's a political choice, not an abstract debate about entitlement. If a majority of US citizens prefer the current system, that's up to them. I'm just glad I don't have to take the risks they do, and when I do go to the US I take out massive travel insurance.

[ajax18]

One of the things that really pisses me off about this is knowing just how many people legitimately need SSDI, and are unable to obtain it. About a year after my MIL was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, we started working on getting her disability (she was 60, so not quite to SS age). She died about 15 months later, and the approval process was still in the works.

I appreciate you sharing this. At least I'm not the only one who gets pissed off by this kind of fraud. Whether you are depressed and have a drinking problem or you were paralyzed and lost a limb in car wreck, you still go through the same 3 year court fight before that disability check comes on through and once approved the chances of ever legally going back to work and terminating your monthly check are about the same for both of these very different situations.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Whether you are depressed and have a drinking problem

I see Xanax never tires of being an absolute mung-tier example of stupidity, and yet here this Mormon man is. Just day in and day out putting his brain on display. It’s actually kind of amazing.

- Doc

[Gunnar]

I appreciate you sharing this. At least I'm not the only one who gets pissed off by this kind of fraud. Whether you are depressed and have a drinking problem or you were paralyzed and lost a limb in car wreck, you still go through the same 3 year court fight before that disability check comes on through and once approved the chances of ever legally going back to work and terminating your monthly check are about the same for both of these very different situations.

Of course you're not the only one who gets pissed off by this kind of fraud! Any reasonable and moral person would be and should be. But Chap's point still stands. The fact that there will always inevitably be a few dishonest individuals trying to take unfair advantage of the system does not justify rejecting the very idea of universal health care. As Chap and numerous others have pointed out, universal healthcare costs much less overall than the current U.S. healthcare system, while demonstrably providing significantly better care for a significantly larger portion of the population. No one should have to choose between dying or becoming bankrupt and/or homeless because of a serious medical condition that was not their fault. Even the study funded by the notoriously conservative Koch brothers found that universal healthcare would both cost less, overall, and provide better results than our current healthcare system.

[Chap]

As Chap and numerous others have pointed out, universal healthcare costs much less overall than the current U.S. healthcare system, [...]

One reason being, of course, that a universal healthcare system does not have to support a huge and totally parasitic insurance industry, which also distorts the costs structures of the medical care system - in ways that are good for insurance companies, natch.