A north country corrections officer is accused of fraudulently receiving more than $10,000 in workers' compensation benefits over a year-long period.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that 40 year old Martin Friess of Massena was arrested and charged in Salina Town Court with felony counts of insurance fraud, false filings and fraudulent practices.

Friess is an eight-year veteran of the Department of Corrections and assigned to the Bare Hill Correctional facility in Malone.

If convicted, Friess faces up to seven years in state prison.

"Defrauding the taxpayer-funded workers' compensation fund is tantamount to stealing from every New Yorker," said Cuomo in a prepared statement. "Workers' compensation is supposed to help injured workers make ends meet, not line the pockets of those looking to cheat the system."

According to the complaint, on May 20, 2008, Friess allegedly injured his knee while working as a corrections officer and did not return to work until June 3, 2009.

During this time period, Friess allegedly applied for and received workers' compensation benefits.

In order to receive these benefits, Friess is alleged to have completed and submitted documents to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) office in Liverpool which falsely claimed that he had not worked or received pay during his absence from work.

An investigation by the NYSIF and the Department of Corrections revealed that at the same time Friess was receiving these insurance benefits, he was actually working and being paid for construction jobs he performed.