Roofing contractor pleads guilty in county court for fraud – The Recorder (subscription)

Staff report

A local roofing contractor pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony Workers Compensation and welfare fraud charges.

Joseph Kellogg, Sr., 51, of Storrie St., pleaded guilty to failure to secure compensation and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, both felonies, according to a release issued from state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott.

Kellogg has been caught for the second time in four years conducting similar fraudulent activity on the Workers Compensation system, according to the release.

Kellogg, a residential roofing contractor in Amsterdam, filed four separate building permit applications in 2015 that included fraudulent certifications stating he had no employees and as such was exempt from obtaining Workers Compensation insurance, according to the release.

In 2013, Kellogg pleaded guilty second-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a similar fraudulent certification.

Scott investigated and determined Kellogg used several employees on his roofing job contracts related to the 2015 permit application, at one point employing 11 individuals on two simultaneous projects. Under state law, according to the release, employers are required to maintain Workers Compensation coverage for their employees. Following his arrest in 2016 on the latest fraud charges, Kellogg was additionally charged with felony false filings when it was determined he earned income through his contracting business Joes Roofing. Kellogg failed to disclose that income in an application for food stamp benefits.

This defendant carved out an entirely new level of unabashed fraud with his crimes, not only leaving his own employees without critical coverage to protect their well being, but also committing virtually the same fraud he was convicted of just a few years earlier, Scott said in the release. I will continue to use my office and the resources at my disposal to pursue anyone who defrauds the Workers Compensation or welfare systems as both provide critical safety nets for those who are truly in need.

Kellogg remains released on bail pending sentencing Oct. 2 in Montgomery County Court.

Scott thanked the city of Amsterdam and Montgomery County Department of Social Services for assisting with the investigation, the Amsterdam Police Department for assisting in the arrest and county District Attorney Kelli McCoski for prosecuting the case.

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Roofing contractor pleads guilty in county court for fraud - The Recorder (subscription)