The New York State Senate unanimously confirmed Benjamin M. Lawsky, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chief of staff, as superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

A Queens, N.Y., contractor was charged with grand larceny and workers’ compensation fraud after allegedly defrauding the New York State Insurance Fund of more than $150,000 in uncollected premium.

The owner of a pair of Suffolk County, N.Y., insurance brokerages has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in what prosecutors say was a $7 million scheme to use client premiums for personal use rather than forwarding the funds to carriers.

The New York State Insurance Department has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday, June 23, to discuss a proposed 7.7% increase in the state’s workers’ compensation loss cost.