Chrysta Cataldo, of Massapequa, charged with defrauding workers' compensation fund out of nearly $17,000

A former Nassau County Fire Service Academy worker allegedly received nearly $17,000 in workers’ compensation for a back injury that she said left her unable to work, but continued working other jobs, including responding to calls as a Massapequa volunteer firefighter, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

Chrysta Cataldo, 40, was arraigned on Wednesday morning in Nassau County Court and pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, falsifying business records and fraudulent practices of Workers’ Compensation Law charges for allegedly lying on medical forms.

Cataldo, of Massapequa, started working at the academy as a laborer on May 6, 2022, but five days later she said she injured her back and went out on disability leave and started receiving workers’ compensation funds, prosecutors said.

At the same time, Cataldo responded to more than 200 calls for service while volunteering for the Massapequa Fire Department through February 2023, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Cataldo also worked as a part-time cleaner for a church and helped out with seasonal tax preparation, the prosecutor charged.

As a requirement to maintain her benefits, Cataldo underwent several medical exams and filled out paperwork to verify her injuries were legitimate, officials said.

Prosecutors say that on at least three state forms — in October 2022, February 2023 and July 2023 — Cataldo circled "no" where it asked if she was working any other jobs.

From the time of her injury through to April 2023, she collected $16,861 in state workers’ compensation money, according to prosecutors.

"As she collected thousands of dollars in benefits, this defendant allegedly filed false paperwork affirming she was not working while in fact she maintained employment at several jobs, including responding to hundreds of incidents as a volunteer firefighter with the Massapequa Fire Department," Donnelly said. "Workers’ compensation supports and protects employees when their injuries or illness keep them from doing their jobs. This important program cannot be abused or exploited at the expense of public institutions and the workers who need these funds most."

Her lawyer, Michael Alber, said his client was indeed injured on the job and maintained her innocence.

"Ms. Cataldo was genuinely injured, has experienced medical circumstances behind her control, and continues to experience pain to this day," Alber said. "No one would want to have the level of injury experienced by her, and certainly no one would want to experience the pain she has gone through and continues to go through. Ms. Cataldo had no intention to defraud anyone, nor did she knowingly make a false statement or representation . . . Upon a fair opportunity to confront the evidence and the lack of evidence in this case we anticipate that the only reasonable conclusion will be that no crime was committed."

The Nassau County Fire Service Academy and the Massapequa Fire Department did not respond to requests for comment.

CORRECTION: Chrysta Cataldo's first name was misspelled in a headline and a first name reference in a previous version of this story.