New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the arrest of an alleged scam artist, Arthur Bogoraz, who officials contend devised a massive scheme to defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars.
Bogoraz has allegedly defrauded no-fault insurance providers by using stolen identification information to set up medical practices, sending false bills to no-fault insurance companies, and then laundering more than $4.5 million in fraudulently filed claims, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Officials said Bogoraz has been on the run since January. The day before he was to surrender, Bogoraz fled the United States to the Ukraine (a country with which the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty), according to officials. He was not seen until his apprehension in Puerto Rico, where officials said he was attempting to reenter the country. Investigators from the Office of the Attorney General took Bogoraz into custody and brought him back to New York for arraignment.
“Motivated by greed, this individual stopped at nothing to line his own pockets with stolen money,” Attorney General Schneiderman said.
An investigation by the attorney general’s office showed that Bogoraz executed a massive scheme to defraud no-fault insurance providers. In New York, no-fault insurance companies provide payments to persons who are injured in motor vehicle accidents to cover their medical bills and other necessary expenses. The companies may also provide direct repayment to the healthcare providers who treated the persons following an accident.
Working With Radiologists In Fraud Scheme
Bogoraz has allegedly persuaded radiologists to work with him and promised payment for each MRI they reviewed, interpreted and reported to the insurance companies as a no-fault insurance claim.
Once they agreed, Bogoraz exploited his access to their personal information to set up separate radiology corporations, often without their knowledge or consent. He then filed phony no-fault insurance claims and collected the money in bank accounts he established using the doctors’ names and personal information. In addition to managing the radiology corporations and accounts, he controlled a collections law firm so that he could launder additional insurance monies.
Bogoraz stole more than $4.5 million from July 2006 to December 2009. He cashed $1 million at check cashing stores, and withdrew more than $500,000 directly from the corporations’ bank accounts. He is indicted on 61 counts. He faces a minimum sentence of four and a half to nine years in prison and a maximum sentence of 12 and a half to 25 years in prison.
The 2011 Annual Report of the New York State Insurance Department’s Frauds Bureau found that no-fault fraud accounted for 53 percent of all insurance fraud reports in 2010. According to the Insurance Information Institute, no-fault fraud and abuse in New York cost consumers and insurers approximately $204 million in 2010.
Source: Office of the New York State Attorney General
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