NYC Injury Headlines

Multiple Indictments Charging A Group Of Lawyers, Medical Doctors And Other State-Licensed Medical Professionals And Dozens Of Others

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, joined by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and New York State Insurance Department Superintendent Gregory V. Serio, today announced multiple indictments charging a group of lawyers, medical doctors and other state-licensed medical professionals and dozens of others with taking part in a no-fault insurance fraud ring that sought to defraud insurance carriers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by staging accidents, submitting false property damage, medical and bodily injury claims and providing baseless treatment and ordering costly and unwarranted medical tests. Police Commissioner Kelly said, "Insurance fraud is just another way for criminals to pick the pocket of the law-abiding public. This case demonstrates that no matter who is involved, they will be pursued, arrested and prosecuted." District Attorney Brown said, "No-fault insurance fraud is increasing at an alarming rate in New York and across the country and is costing the insurance industry about $23 billion dollars nationwide each year. The consuming public in the last analysis pays the bill because the cost of the fraud is ultimately passed on to all of us by way of ever increasing insurance premiums. With the successful conclusion of our investigation today, we have closed down a major insurance fraud ring based in Queens County and have sent a clear message that combating insurance fraud is a top law enforcement priority." Insurance Department Superintendent Serio said, "The arrests of medical practitioners and lawyers are particularly egregious because these individuals are entrusted by society to care for fellow New Yorkers and uphold the law. Rather than using their licenses for good, they are using their licenses to steal from honest insurance paying consumers by defrauding the insurance system. It is through these aggressive collaborative efforts with the New York Police Department and the Queens District Attorney's office that we are sending a clear message that there is no profit in insurance fraud, only prosecution to the fullest extent of the law." The defendants include two lawyers, eight medical doctors, two Queens medical clinics, a Brooklyn law firm, a psychologist, a chiropractor, a physician's assistant and two physical therapists. Also charged are six alleged runners, ten alleged jump-ins and a law office manager. The indictments are the result of a two-year undercover investigation by the New York City Police Department Auto Crime Division, the New York State Insurance Department's Insurance Fraud Bureau and the Queens District Attorney's Rackets and Organized Crime Bureau. According to the charges, the two-year investigation – Operation Sideswipe – uncovered evidence that a group of over 30 individuals – including attorneys, medical doctors and other licensed medical professionals – medical clinics in Forest Hills and Richmond Hill, Queens, a law firm in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and an ambulate transportation corporation in Borough Park, Brooklyn engaged in various schemes using middlemen and runners to submit false claims to insurance companies of over $236,000 by staging automobile accidents, submitting insurance claims for property damage, medical and bodily injury that contained false and exaggerated information, ordering expensive and baseless diagnostic tests and equipment, and filing fraudulent lawsuits. The defendants have been variously charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Larceny, Falsifying Business Records, Tampering With Public Records, Falsely Reporting an Incident and Conspiracy and face up to seven years in prison if convicted. Additionally, the attorneys have been charged with Employing An Individual to Illegally Solicit Clients, a violation of the Judiciary Law. The defendants include: attorneys Alan Blumen, 30, of 985 Lily Court Point Dejar in Morganville, New Jersey and George Vishnevetsky, 40, of 7314 21st Avenue in Brooklyn and medical doctors Azriel Benaroya, 57, 217-57 Kingsbury Avenue in Queens; Emma Benjamin, 45, 108-49 63rd Avenue in Queens; Alexandra Brodsky, 57, of 2611 East 13th Street in Brooklyn; Vasiliki Kadianakis, 37, 3810 Waverly Avenue in Seaford, New York; Vladimir Kirkorov, 54, of 21 Bennett Place in Staten Island; Leonid Slutsky, 47, of 1833 East 12th Street in Brooklyn; Milton Smith, 58, of 1000 Park Avenue in Manhattan and Huseyin Tuncel, 44, of 33 1st Street in Garden City, New York. The indictments charge that the schemes involved two medical clinics – Lane Medical at 107-40 Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills and 1st Modern Medical Care at 117-12 Myrtle Avenue in Richmond Hill – and the law firms of George Vishnevetsky and Alan Blumen at 2649 and 2653 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. The indictments charge that the law firms employed two individuals – Aydin Nurizade and Valery Uskach – to cultivate and operate a stable of runners to recruit clients and sell them to the law firm for up to $3000 per client. It is alleged that the runners in turn would pay off the alleged accident victims an average of $500 to stage automobile accidents, seek protracted and unnecessary medical treatment and file fraudulent no fault claims and law suits