The operation staged thousands of car accidents around the New York City area, investigators say, following the classic modus operandi of having a ring member pull in front of an unsuspecting driver and slam on the brakes to force a collision so as to generate insurance claims. (New York has a no-fault insurance law; similar scams are found in states with both fault and no-fault systems). A second car would then drive up, often discharging more claimed passengers while whisking away the original driver of the scam vehicle (so that his name would not turn up in too many claims). “Those indicted included doctors, psychiatrists, chiropractors, dentists and nearly 20 bogus health-care clinics … Lawyers whom prosecutors said were aware that the claims were false often called the insurance companies and threatened to file suits if the claims were not paid.” (Patrick Healy, “Investigators Say Fraud Ring Staged Thousands of Crashes”, New York Times, Aug. 13)(see Apr. 2, 2001, Aug. 25-27, 2000, Sept. 13, 1999).
Comments are closed.