A former NYPD cop pocketed more than $100,000 in state disability benefits — while running a training business and posting weightlifting videos online, state prosecutors said.
Raymond Phillips, 40, of Huntington, put in for disability in 2018, claiming he hurt his arm while weightlifting and couldn’t work — but kept posting workout pics and videos on Facebook and Instagram, and even took part in weightlifting competitions, state Attorney General Letitia James said.
“Raymond Phillips shamelessly collected benefits meant for disabled New Yorkers while boasting his weightlifting achievements on social media,” James said in a statement.
“My office has no tolerance for fraudsters who cheat the system and steal from programs that are a lifeline for New Yorkers in need,” she said. “I thank our partners in law enforcement and the Social Security Administration for ensuring we hold those who steal taxpayer dollars accountable.”
The Suffolk County musclehead, a former NYPD cop, according to state officials, claimed in August 2018 that he hurt his left arm and had to undergo surgery, leaving him unable to work.
The Social Security Administration approved his claim in May 2021, retroactive to 2018, which allowed Phillips to pocket more than $100,000 in benefits, the attorney general’s office said.
But Phillips brazenly kept working out and posting videos and photos of his bench-pressing and power-lifting feats, all while working as a personal trainer, state officials said.
State investigators finally got wise to the ruse and launched a probe, which led to charges of grand larceny and offering a false instrument this week, the AG’s office said.
Online court records do not list an attorney for Phillips and show he’s due back in court Aug. 13.
“Social Security disability benefits are intended for individuals who are legitimately unable to work—not those who misrepresent their medical condition for financial gain,” Conor Washington, special agent in charge of the Social Security Administration’s inspector general, said in a statement.
“By falsely claiming he could not use his dominant arm while continuing to work as a personal trainer, the defendant stole benefits intended for Americans with legitimate disabilities,” Washington said.
