Glendale residents flooded with alleged fraudulent medical bills
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A number of Glendale residents recently received letters from Eastern Account Systems claiming that they owed money stemming from medical bills. Officials claim that the bills are fraudulent and urged residents to reach out to the authorities should they receive them. Photo via Eastern Account Systems
By Ryan Schwach
Elected officials and law enforcement are warning locals after several dozen people in Glendale received mail believed to be related to a possible medical bill fraud scam.
The officials are warning locals about the potential scam – which has an unknown origin – and are asking residents to reach out to them or the Queens district attorney’s office should they also receive the mail.
According to the office of Councilmember Joann Ariola, and screenshots from a local civic group’s Facebook page, Glendale residents began receiving a letter in recent days telling them they owed money for medical bills.
Some residents got more than two dozen such letters sent to one address. At least one resident claimed that they got 31 letters sent to their address on a single day.
Several dozen residents posted on the Facebook group about the situation. Most of them reported that they reached out to their own medical providers about the letters and were told it was a scam and to disregard the mailings.
The Queens district attorney’s office is investigating the claims, but did not comment further.
At least two Facebook comments regarding the incident said the mailings came from Eastern Account Systems, a Connecticut based debt-collection company. The company has several negative reviews online, some for sending several letters to a single address, and more than 25 pages of complaints on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
It is unclear if the mailers were sent from the actual Eastern Account Systems company, or a fraudster posing as the company.
The company does not have a publicly available management phone number, or a press contact.
The DA’s office said that if anyone believes they have been a victim of fraud, they are urged to reach out to the DA’s Fraud’s Bureau by emailing frauds@queensda.org or calling 718-286-6673.
Ariola also said to reach out to the DA, and said the local 104th NYPD Precinct is also looking into the inundation of mailers sent to Glendale residents.
"It's very important for people to pay attention to the bills they receive, and to question anything that seems out of place," said Ariola. "Whether simple billing error or fraud, we don't want New Yorkers losing their hard earned money. If something seems fishy, call your medical provider to clarify things, not whatever number might be listed on the letter - these can potentially also be fraudulent. If you think you are falling victim to a scam, you can also reach out to the DA's office and let them know. They have a whole team dedicated to this kind of thing, and they are there to help you."
