NEW YORK — An EMT offered $400 to an undercover reporter to take his mandatory state-certification exam and created a fake ID to carry out the scam.
NYPost reported that Bernard Shore, a volunteer critical-care EMT, posted an ad on Craigslist June 19.
“I am looking for an EMT-CC or Paramedic to take the state test for me. Must be a male age 40+ I will take care of the ID,” Shore wrote on the ad. “Contact me through this site. I am refreshing after 12 years and I have a disability that I can’t sit for 3-4 hours. I would do it myself if I could.”
The Post responded to the ad with assistance from a retired New York paramedic and started email and telephone correspondence, according to the report. Shore explained he pilots a fire-rescue boat and couldn’t take the exam because of scoliosis, according to the report.
In emails, he would attach multiple-choice questions and said, “Please answer these questions and get back to me — tell me how much you want $400 is what I am offering,” he wrote, according to the report.
Shore then requested a photo of the test-taker to make a fake ID, according to the report.
Shore and the undercover reporter met Tuesday and he quickly handed over the newly made, $20 money order for the exam fee, admittance paperwork and two pencils, according to the report.
“Listen, I put my signature over here so you could try to copy it,” he said. The test-taker is required to sign the exam.
The Post reporter then identified himself and Shore suddenly dashed back inside the vehicle and sped away, according to the report.
“Based on fraudulent test results, the state, county and fire department would let him administer life-saving medications and perform procedures such as intubation, defibrillation, starting an IV, drawing blood and reading an EKG,” said the retired N.Y. paramedic.
Criminal charges for the scheme could carry a maximum jail time of seven years for forgery and criminal impersonation, according to the report.
“Never have I heard of anyone doing anything that stupid,” the retired paramedic said.