An Auburn insurance broker will have to pay the price for swindling senior citizens into buying unnecessary home care policies, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

Cuomo's office obtained a court order penalizing Thomas Piccirillo for using the fear of being sent to a nursing home to defraud numerous seniors in at least 11 counties across the state for lucrative commissions. Cuomo had filed a lawsuit against Piccirillo earlier this year.

Selling nearly identical policies from Homeward Bound Services of North America. Inc. and Americare Home Care Service, Inc., Piccirillo, whose office is listed as 14 Genesee St., Auburn, apparently earned more than $117,000 in commissions in 2006.

Piccirillo was ordered by state Justice Diane Y. Devlin to pay $500,000 in restitution to seniors he defrauded, $100,000 in penalties, plus an additional $10,000 penalty to the state for targeting senior citizens, according to a written news release from Cuomo's office. Additionally, Piccirillo is barred from selling any home-care policies unless he posts a $500,000 bond.

"This individual illegally took advantage of New York's most vulnerable residents to increase his commissions," Cuomo said in the release. "He used the appeal of seniors maintaining their independence in order to gain their trust, which he then broke by selling unnecessary home care policies.

"My office is holding him accountable for his misdeeds and he must pay restitution to the consumers he defrauded."

Piccirillo could not be immediately reached for comment.