NY Cage Dancer Forfeits Right to Future Comp Benefits

A New York appellate court has refused to vacate a portion of a county court’s judgment that, following a defendant’s guilty plea to fraudulent practices (N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 114), welfare fraud, and misuse of food stamps, in relevant part ordered a forfeiture of future workers’ compensation benefits for defendant’s existing back injury [People v. Hares, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5667 (4th Dep’t, July 2, 2015)]. The defendant asked the appellate court to vacate the order of forfeiture as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, but the court declined to do so, noting that that the order of forfeiture had been part of the People’s plea offer, which defendant voluntarily accepted. The court also noted that, despite defendant’s alleged back disability, she had been able to earn unreported income as a cage dancer, “which involved physical activity that included hanging upside down from bars.”