Sprawling Insurance Fraud Ring That Staged Accidents Shut Down by New York Supreme Court
The New York Supreme Court shut down an insurance fraud ring run by two Queens women. The women and their conspirators staged accidents to conduct insurance fraud. Governor Kathy Hochul cited the case as one reason why New York car insurance rates are almost twice the national average.
According to Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Maureen T. Liccione, Integon National Insurance Company was able to prove that eight “accidents” that took place between March and July 2023 were created on purpose. The conspirators staged them as part of a larger fraud scheme to produce fictitious insurance claims.
How the insurance fraud scam worked
The judge concluded that the women conspired to have several drivers and passengers purchase automobiles with cash. They also obtained short-term insurance from Integon. Then they had the drivers purposefully collide with commercial trucks from behind on major thoroughfares.
The two Queens women, whom the judge said oversaw the entire scheme, then sent participants to specific medical facilities. They also organized the car purchases and referred the accident “victims” to the same insurance broker.
The judge said that doctors then prescribed the “victims” unnecessary medical equipment, costly diagnostic tests, and needless therapy. According to the lawsuit, the conspirators would subsequently pay kickbacks to the doctor’s offices. They also never paid the premiums on the insurance policies. All of the incidents occurred within 45 days of the issuing of the policies.
One victim explained how the scam affected them
“I was headed eastbound in the right lane of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, when a Ford vehicle from the middle lane suddenly cut over directly in front of my truck,” one of the victimized drivers tesified, according to court documents obtained by Road & Track. “Prior to cutting over, I observed the occupants of that Ford staring into the cab of my truck. After making eye contact with me, the Ford and its occupants swung in front of my truck from the middle lane and cut me off.”
“Once they cut over from the middle lane, the Ford immediately came to a dead stop directly in front of me for no rational reason,” the testimony continues. “I applied my brakes but the Ford left no room or time for me to avoid striking it in the rear.”
“For most people, car insurance isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity, especially here on Long Island where people rely on their cars to get to work, get to school or even go grocery shopping,” Governor Hochul said last week. “These common sense proposals will crack down on the bad actors that are driving up the cost of car insurance and putting that financial burden on innocent, hardworking New Yorkers.”
