Long Island Railroad disability fraud doctor sentenced, cost hundreds of millions-NY Post

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5/24/13, "Prison, $233M in fines for LIRR 'gravy train' doc," NY Post, Rosario and Saul

"A doctor at the heart of the massive LIRR “gravy train” scandal was sentenced to eight years in federal prison yesterday for his central role in the audacious $1 billion pension scam — which the judge condemned as “a large pool of corruption.”

Dr. Peter Ajemian, 63, was also ordered to pay back $233 million for falsely diagnosing hundreds of greedy Long Island Railroad workers with disabilities so they could retire early with sweet pensions....

Prosecutors said Ajemian ran a “disability-fraud mill” that recommended over 700 retiring LIRR employees get disability payments between the late 1990s and 2008.

During that same period, Ajemian declared as disabled an astounding 94 percent of the LIRR workers he saw — and the dishonest doctor pocketed $800 to $1,200 for each fraudulent diagnosis.

Prosecutors believe Ajemian — who lives in the affluent Long Island village Oyster Bay Cove — earned about $2.5 million with his scam.

“The fraud here is one of remarkable scope. It is one that reached into hundreds of millions of dollars,” assistant US attorney Government prosecutor Daniel Tehrani said in court yesterday....

Many of LIRR workers who scammed their way into the generous pensions spent their time playing golf and tennis or even went on to start second careers, prosecutors have said.

One railroad electrician who paid Ajemian $750 for a phony disability diagnosis was busted when he was filmed installing an underground irrigation system.

Prosecutors have charged 32 people in connection with the LIRR disability fraud and 23 have already pleaded guilty."


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