CLINTON, N.Y. — A Clinton surgeon faces more than 20 felony counts for allegedly billing the state workers’-compensation system for office work when he was actually as far away as Iceland.
Dr. Gregory B. Shankman, 70, of Clinton was arraigned on charges of grand larceny in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, and 21 counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.
Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott said Shankman defrauded the workers’-compensation system of more than $50,000 by claiming he was examining patients at his Utica office when was actually in Western New York, out of state or, in the spring of 2016, traveling in Iceland.
In all, Scott said Shankman was not in his office on more than 150 separate days from January 2015 to August 2017 while certifying he was at the office each of those day overseeing workers’-compensation exams.
“Patients at Shankman’s office were often instead only seen by a physician’s assistant who was not authorized to examine and treat workers’-compensation patients without Shankman’s direct supervision,” Scott said in a news release.
Following his arraignment, Shankman was released pending future court action.
Contact McChesney at cmcchesney@cnybj.com