New York State's Office of the Attorney General has taken an aggressive stance against fraud, particularly auto and healthcare insurance scams, and the team was recognized for its efforts by the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud (NYAAIF) as the "Prosecutor of the Year" during the NYAAIF meeting this week.
NYAAIF Chair Jim Berrigan applauded the efforts of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and his team for successfully prosecuting a number of insurance-related fraud cases. Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Swenton, chief of the auto fraud unit, accepted the award on behalf of the office.
According to Liz DeBold, deputy press secretary for the attorney general, their office has seen a variety of frauds ranging from staged automobile accident rings to contractor scams and individuals posing as insurance brokers. "In New York City, an NYPD officer faces prison time for submitting four fraudulent insurance claims in just two years, including purposely crashing one Mercedes Benz for an insurance payout, and faking the theft of another one," she explained. "A notorious Albany roofer will now serve up to nine years for ripping off insurers on damage claims. And on Long Island, a man who falsely claimed he was an insurance broker and submitted hundreds of fraudulent policies is now serving a prison sentence of up to four years."
DeBold says the Office of the Attorney General has been committed to holding fraudsters accountable for attempting to defraud New Yorkers. "It is an honor to be recognized for those efforts, and an important reminder of the work we do day in and day out to ensure there is one set of rules for everyone."
AG's office is 'solid partner' with insurers
Dennis Jay, spokesperson for NYAAIF, agrees. "The best detection and fraud investigation will succeed only with aggressive prosecution. The attorney general's office in New York has become a solid partner with insurers and other state agencies in seeing insurance criminals get punished. We are delighted to see those efforts recognized."
More recently, DeBold says the office has observed frauds involving enhanced damage by auto body shops. "In these cases, when a car involved in an accident is brought in for repairs, corrupt shops add damage to the car, fraudulently inflating the property claim by thousands of dollars, often without the knowledge of the owner. We currently have several investigations into these sorts of schemes underway, and we expect indictments later this year."
Frank Orlando, head of the fraud unit of the state Department of Financial Services said his agency receives between 23,000 to 24,000 fraud referrals annually, and the number continues to hold steady with 62% of the cases involving fraud from the state's no-fault auto system. He says one trend his office is seeing involves "patients" (undercover officers) being treated by clinics for back pain and being told they need knee surgery despite a lack of evidence for any joint injuries.
The attorney general's office has targeted health and auto insurance fraud specifically because of its impact on New Yorkers. "By targeting these types of schemes, we are directly reducing the price paid by innocent, indirect victims across our state," explains DeBold. "By going after auto insurance fraud, we've been able to keep our streets safe from reckless, dangerous behavior. And by stopping both auto and health insurance scams, we can ensure a fair market for consumers whose insurance premiums skyrocket as a result of fraud."
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