District Attorney Hoovler Announces Prison Sentence in Insurance Fraud Case

Wallkill Woman Sentenced to 2-6 Years in Prison for Insurance Scam

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, Shirley Bowens, age 50, of Wallkill, was sentenced in Orange County Court to two to six (2-6) years in prison relative to her previous plea of guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree.

As alleged in statements made and documents filed in court, over approximately two (2) years between 2019 and 2021, Bowens submitted fraudulent bills to her insurance company that misrepresented that she and members of her family had been hospitalized and received various treatments.  In fact, no such hospitalizations or treatments had occurred.  Through this scheme, Bowens, who had prior experience in medical billing, stole approximately $90,000 from her insurance company.  At the plea proceedings, Bowens admitted to stealing the money.

The investigation into Bowens’s actions was conducted by the New York State Department of Financial Services, a member of the Orange County White Collar Crime Task Force.  The multi-agency Task Force, which includes investigators from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and several other local police agencies including the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the Village of Warwick Police Department, the Village of Goshen Police Department, the Town of Crawford Police Department, and the Town of Woodbury Police Department, was created in March 2023 to focus on enhancing the investigation and prosecution of public corruption and financial crimes.  The Task Force’s mandate includes the investigation of residential contractor fraud; crimes involving public integrity, public corruption, and ethics violations; embezzlement and other complex theft cases, crimes against revenue; wage theft and labor law violations.

“This defendant egregiously sought to enrich herself by making false insurance claims,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “While the defendant might have hoped for easy money, instead the dedicated investigators who are part of the Orange County White Collar Crime Task Force identified her criminal actions and ensured that she was held accountable.  The Task Force will continue to dedicate the time, personnel, and resources necessary to uncover frauds such as this one.”

The case is being prosecuted by Chief Trial Assistant District Attorney Richard Moran.

This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.