Tip Of The Iceberg: Criminal charges in Bemus Point Central School fraud case are latest in string of court filings against CNY firm
Criminal charges in Bemus Point Central School fraud case are latest in string of court filings against CNY firm
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A Rochester man is facing charges after allegedly stealing funds from three school districts, including Bemus Point.
On Wednesday, New York State Police arrested Zacchary E. Weber, 49, following an investigation into the alleged theft of more than $810,000. The investigation began in September 2025 after the Sodus Central School District reported concerns involving funds administered by Health Economics Partners LLC (HEP), a company that administered medical and dental benefit accounts for organizations, including school districts. Weber serves as the company’s CEO and president.
The investigation determined that funds were allegedly transferred without authorization from accounts belonging to the Sodus Central School District and North Rose-Wolcott Central School District in Wayne County and the Bemus Point Central School District in Chautauqua County to accounts controlled by HEP.
A forensic audit conducted by the New York State Police Financial Crimes Unit determined the three school districts sustained combined losses totaling $810,695.55:
-- Bemus Point Central School District: $251,119.86
-- Sodus Central School District: $377,757.75
-- North Rose-Wolcott Central School District: $181,817.94.
Weber was charged with two counts of felony second-degree grand larceny in Wayne County and transported to Wayne County Jail for arraignment. Following his Wayne County arraignment, he was charged with felony second-degree grand larceny in the town of Ellery. He was transported to Chautauqua County for arraignment.
The investigation was conducted by the New York State Police Troop E Violent Crime Investigative Team with assistance from the Special Investigations Unit Financial Crimes Unit, Troop E Community Stabilization Unit, SP Jamestown Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Bemus Point is the only district that has yet to file a civil case against Health Economics Partners LLC in state Supreme Court. Last week's criminal charges add to two civil judgments against Health Economics Partners LLC earlier this year in state Supreme Court in Wayne County. Sodus Central School was awarded $905,851.50, including $725,130.54 in damages, prejudgement interest totaling $145,542.64 and attorneys fees of $905,851.50. North Rose-Wolcott was awarded $195,612.26 in damages, $33,232.65 in interest from June 30, 2024, through May 20, 2026, and $14,259.39 in attorneys fees for a total of $243,319.30.
Steven Moore, Sodus’ business administrator, said in an affirmation filed in court in April that the school transferred $230,000 from its self-insured dental insurance plan claims fund to an account belonging to Health Economics Partners in February 2024. In addition to the $230,000 transferred from the claims fund, the district had no access to the remaining balance. As of January 2025, there was supposed to be $176,245.30 in the claims fund, with the district depositing $22,452.52 and $22,383.79 in February and March 2025. The district said it should have had $221,081.61 in the fund as of March 2025, but the district began having to pay out-of-pocket for dental claims since September 2025 that should have been covered by the claims fund. Moore said the district paid $274,0478.93 for dental claims that should have been covered by the fund from Sept. 30, 2025, through March 2, 2026.
According to documents filed in the legal claim, dental claims from employees were being denied for non-payment and bounced checks written by Health Economic Partners for claims which helped prompt district officials to look into the state of its claims fund in the first place. Those issues began to arise in June 2025, according to court exhibits.
"I and others at SCSD have grave concerns that Mr. Weber has misappropriated the Claims Fund and other amounts paid by SCSD and Dental Plan participants to Health Economics," Moore wrote in an August 2025 affidavit to the state Supreme Court. "I have the same concerns regarding Health Economics' misuse of funds deposited by plan
participants into their HSAs. I also am aware that another school district, i.e., North Rose-Wilcott Central School
District, is having similar problems with Health Economics and has grave concerns about the location and availability of the funds it paid and entrusted to Health Economics."
A third judgment against Health Economics Partners and Weber states TES, a staffing agency, wasn’t paid for $21,253.69 in services from June 22, 2025, through Sept. 7, 2025. The staffing company received a judgment of $21,630.71 through its filing in state Supreme Court in Monroe County.
Weber also had a civil judgment filed against him after Health Economics Group, which sold its business to Weber and Health Economics Partners in 2024 for $1.5 million, but Weber stopped making payments around the time the school districts started reaching out regarding unpaid claims. Health Economics Group was awarded $50,000 in state Supreme Court in Monroe County as well as $1,381.50 in interest. Initial filings by the Sodus and Rose-Wolcott school districts were also filed against Health Economics Group because the districts thought HEG was still involved in managing their money.
“Albeit (Weber’s) delinquent payment to plaintiff, (Weber’s) recent alleged misappropriation of funds against HEG’s prior long-standing clients has caused the 40-year-long reputation of plaintiff to be smeared in the public eye and negatively reported by the media,” Langston McFadden, Health Economics Group attorney, said in an October 10, 2025, filing. “In light of the foregoing, defendant’s willful, malicious and irresponsible actions have caused irreparable harm to plaintiffs longstanding reputation in the industry.”