44 The Roslyn Times, Friday, May 22, 2015
RT
Sweep of county nets six for welfare fraud Continued from Page 11 deceased father of her children, according to authorities. An investigation by the DA’s office found that Sarelis received a total of $1,900 per month in Social Security death benefits for her three children, but did not notify the Department of Social Services about the payments, according to authorities. They said Sarelis also submitted forged letters from her children’s father — after his death— saying he paid her $100 per month in child support. With the monthly Social Security payments, Sarelis’ household income would have made her ineligible for the benefits. She faces charges of third-degree welfare fraud, third-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, all felonies.
Authorities said Yessika Gana collected $37,288 in Medicaid benefits between January 2006 and January 2014 but failed to notify the Department of Social Services she was living with the father of her two children and of his income, which would have rendered her ineligible for the benefits. She faces charges of third-degree welfare fraud, third-degree grand larceny and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. Raphael and Donna Benabou, who are married, received $20,175.29 in Department of Social Services benefits between August 2010 and January 2013 but failed to disclose thousands of dollars in monthly income from interest and dividends, authorities said, adding the Benabous also “concealed they were receiving a monthly IRA distribution of more than $1,500.” Their actual income would have exceeded the
threshold to qualify for the government-subsidized Family Health Plus, according to authorities. The Benabous face charges of third-degree welfare fraud, third degree grand larceny and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. “Despite the fact that time and time again we inform the public that those who cheat the system will be caught and prosecuted, some continue to question our determination to root out fraud and abuse,” Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement. “I again say to those who would steal money from the neediest of our citizens: you will be caught and prosecuted, and the money you’ve stolen will be returned to our taxpayers.” The cases were all referred to the district attorney’s office by the Nassau County Department of Social Services.
Offering Greece a much-needed financial lifeline Continued from Page 12 average weekly salary was 500E. Being forced to utilize the Euro instead of its own currency meant that Greece did not have the key tool that the U.S. used to stop the freefall of our economy into Depression - a federal reserve that could lower interest rates to stimulate investment. Tax Evasion: while you hear in Greece the meme that taxes are too high and discourage business investment (the argument you hear to get the U.S. to lower its corporate rates from the nominal 35 percent, while also pushing for a flat-tax instead of a progressive tax structure), I question the premise based on what I saw at the port of Pireaus and other popular ports: namely, row after row of yachts the size of cruise ships, sporting the flags and registration of places like Malta, Channel Islands, Cayman Islands, Panama - that is, tax havens. We’re talking ships costing probably $50 million or $100 million - money paid for by evading taxes that would otherwise have gone into government coffers. I looked into the registry of one of these yachts, moored next to our tiny little vessel in Poros: registered to a investment company called Lightstone based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Another highly conspicuous ship which gets everyone agog in Pireaus is The Maltese Falcon a “one of a kind” ship-rigged sailing luxury yacht, commissioned and formerly owned by American venture capitalist Tom Perkins. It is one of the largest privately owned sailing yachts in the world at 289 ft,. The yacht, which is registered in Malta, was sold in 2009 for about $70 million to Elena Ambrosiadou, the founder of IKOS Ltd., the Cyprusbased hedge fund. The common denominator, it seems, is “hedge fund”. These are companies that invest other people’s money, who are expecting a return. I am wondering how the investors are benefitted by hundreds of millions of dollars going into a vessel that immediately depreciates and that does not benefit anyone but the CEO who has the authority to sail it. The solution that was imposed on the
Greek people punished ordinary people for the sins of others. Austerity destroyed any kind of purchasing power, and is the reason for all the shuttered stores, for unemployment rates of 25 percent. But what you see now is a renewal - a chef who lost his job when his restaurant shut down went into business for himself, opening a patio-style lunch place in the midst of the bank buildings that reminds me of Austin’s truck-style eateries. Hip restaurants, cafes, cocktail and coffee bars are opening up in shuttered shops that became obsolete, like fabric stores that fell out of favor. These are the opportunities that people need in Greece (and in the U.S.) Here’s my prescription for solving Greece’s economic crisis (which would work here too): Stimulate international investment directly into communities (not into or through the government): Real estate: I see prime buildings that are vacant that could be purchased a discount prices, restored (generating jobs) and turned into a productive purpose (also stimulative). For example, on one prominent street, I ask Constantine E. Cavoulacos, who is an architect in Tekem SA, a family architectural and engineering firm that has built 1200 projects in Athens, who out of pride in his city, has volunteered to be a guide to tourists like me in the city’s “This is My Athens” program, what such a building might cost and how much it would cost to refurbish. The combined figure, $2.5 million, for a beautiful building in a prime location seems to me to be a very good investment, and there are many such buildings all around. (He would be an ideal agent for foreign investors to locate appropriate properties and calculate the costs, c.cavoulacos@takem.gr.) Such properties should be prime for investment - either for villas, or for commercial purpose like a boutique hotel, or retail or office space. But these could also be purchased by foundations, refurbished, and turned into business incubators such as I see at the Social Impact Hub, where dozens of young entrepreneurs have very inexpensive of-
fice space in a building that a family owns and makes available (Social Impact Hub, SocialImpactaward.gr, is part of a global community, Impacthub.net). This would also help stem the brain drain: Young educated people are leaving Greece to find jobs. (See “Young Greeks Seek Options Elsewhere,” By Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times, Sept. 14, 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/business/global/15drachma.html?_r=0). Sustainable development: On the other hand, many of the shuttered, deteriorating structures should be knocked down and replaced with parks (in traditional Greek architecture, homes were built around a courtyard, now there is just a sprawl of building to accommodate a metro area of five million). Families now gather, and children play soccer, on the cobblestone boulevards that ring the Acropolis because there are so few parks. Athens should take advantage of the declining population due to the loss of young people and the economic woes: the population of the “city proper” was 665,000 in 2014, down from 796,400 in 2004- interestingly, about the same number as in Classical Greece; the Athens Metropolitan Area (with 58 municipalities) has a population estimated at 3.75 million in 2014, well below the 5 or 6 million that local people were quoting. I am optimistic when I go about the countryside and see wind turbines and solar panels, artificial lakes which generate hydroelectricity, that will help Greece achieve energy independence and are the big-scale technological projects that will provide jobs. Greece should be prime for international investment it offers an excellent infrastructure, educated population, glorious weather, a very desirable location, where wages and salaries are comparatively low, the standard of living comparatively cheap. Foreign investors would need some guarantees against nationalization of resources, and probably tax incentives. Another source of foreign investment into Greek’s economy comes from the realization that there are some 1,800 islands, but only a couple of hundred are inhabited: the government could sell (or
if that is not acceptable, lease) private islands such as one gorgeous island we spot with a single house a short distance from the shore of the Peleponnese and 10 minutes sail outside of the port of Poros. Tax reform: the way it was described, the “little people” (as Leona Helmsley used to say) pay too much tax and clearly, others are not paying enough. Greece (like the US), needs tax reform that is fair, and better ways to assure collection (as Germany has). A taxi driver cites tax policy as a key source of the problem: “Companies need lower taxes, he says. They now have a 60 percent tax rate. The old system was 20-25 pertcent. There is a new deal every year.” Clearly, some rationality and stability is necessary. Drop the Euro: “The solution is to leave the Euro – because living standards are all different,” says Catharina Flamic, a German who has been guiding and living in Greece for more than a decade. “Greece was better off before – the banks telling us how to live. One currency doesn’t work – there are power countries. The EU money only sent to international banks, not to the Greeks.” Her view was echoed by Eleni Pape, who grew up in East Germany and has lived in Greece for more than a dozen years. Make a fair agreement with bondholders for a reasonable repayment. Don’t attack pensions, retirement, or social programs (I notice the name on one building: “The Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity”). Meanwhile, out of desperation, the government is privatizing public services (a German company is itching to take over the utility company). “Greeks are masters of improvisation,” says Flamic. But they need to be masters of their fate. What I learned in Greece? Far from being innate to the human condition, democracy is fleeting unless the people are engaged and vigilant. Just having democracy isn’t any assurance of keeping it. And economic vitality, narrowing the gap between rich and poor, social and economic mobility, and feeling engaged, that one’s participation matters, are key.