The former president and owner of New Hyde Park-based WhiteStar Limousine company who collected more than $200,000 in fraudulent disability benefits pled guilty to a second-degree grand larceny charge on Tuesday, Attorney General Letitia James announced.
Ragusa, 52, filed false disability reports with the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance from 2013 to 2020, citing a 2013 injury that impeded his abilities to perform daily activities, according to a release from James’ office.
“Anthony Ragusa swindled taxpayers by claiming the benefits for himself, but was caught in his fraudulent scheme when his wife posted bodybuilding photos of him online,” James said in a statement. “His illegal and shameful actions are an insult to those who actually live with disabilities, and I will always take action to bring fraudsters like Ragusa to justice on behalf of the people.”
Ragusa is required to pay $200,000 to the Social Security Administration, James said, and will be on probation for five years. If Ragusa does not pay the restitution fees by the time of his sentencing date, which was not disclosed in the release, he faces 1-3 years of incarceration.
Efforts to reach Ragusa or other law enforcement representatives for further comment were unavailing.
On the application Ragusa filed, he claimed his injury came as a result of a fall working as an electrician, officials said. The injuries sustained after the fall, Ragusa said in the reports, were so severe that he had trouble walking for more than 15 minutes and sitting for 30 minutes at a time. He also claimed the injuries prevented him from working in any capacity, according to the release.
Officials said Ragusa continued to work and train to be an “avid weightlifter” while collecting disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Various social media posts and videos featured Ragusa training to become a bodybuilder, according to the release.
From January 2015 to 2020, officials said, Ragusa maintained eligibility to receive continuous disability funds despite hearings and written testimonies. Officials said there is “extensive” video and photographic evidence that showed Ragusa lifting weights in his quest to become a bodybuilder since 2017, including various posts from his wife’s Instagram account.
“This guilty plea is a product of the collaborative efforts of our Cooperative Disability Investigations Program, in which we work jointly with state, local, and law enforcement agencies to combat fraud in our disability programs,” Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration, said. “I thank each agency for their investigative efforts and the Office of the Attorney General for prosecuting this case.”
The case was investigated by James’ office under the direction of Detective Supervisor Mike Leahy of the Major Investigations Unit, officials said.
