Dix Hills Man Defrauded Insurance Companies: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — The associate director of operations at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood was arrested Thursday after defrauding insurance companies out of over $132,000, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini and New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro.

Joseph Gottesman, 43, of Dix Hills, a licensed psychologist at the center, was accused of submitting hundreds of false claims under his wife's name for services that were never provided, Sini said.

The Inspector General's investigation found that Gottesman filed 448 false claims by stealing the identities of at least six different out-of-network medical providers between December 2016 and May 2019 for his wife, the district attorney said.

Gottesman received $132,514 in checks and most of the funds were deposited into the couple's joint checking account, with Gottesman forging his wife's name to endorse many of the checks, Sini said.

The investigation determined there were several times when Gottesman's wife was not even in the state on dates the claims were submitted, Sini said.

Sini said Gottesman submitted three false claims for his wife for services from three different providers in January 2019, but credit card purchases and social media postings proved that she was in Florida at the time. In addition, Gottesman submitted a false claim for his wife for services on February 16, 2019, but a review of his wife's Facebook postings showed she was on vacation in Aruba at that time, according to Sini.

Gottesman is currently on administrative leave from Pilgrim Psychiatric Center. He was charged with second-degree grand larceny and second-degree insurance fraud.

"The brazenness and extent of this fraudulent scheme is shocking," Sini said. "We will not stand to have hardworking New Yorkers foot the bill for criminals who think they can get away with gaming the system for their own personal benefit."

Gottesman was arraigned on the charges Wednesday in Suffolk County First District Court and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Dec. 15. If convicted of the top count, Gottesman faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.

Patch's Priscila Korb contributed to this report.