Orchestrator of $60 Million New York Auto Insurance Fraud Gets 10 Years in Prison

A New Jersey man who orchestrated a 13-year long, $60 million no-fault automobile insurance scam in New York has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Bradley Pierre was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe for conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with the fraud campaign targeting automobile insurance companies.

Pierre pled guilty before the same judge on December 18, 2023.

In addition to the prison term, Pierre was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $3,500,000 and pay $1,500,000 in restitution.

“Bradley Pierre’s deceitful orchestration of a $60 million fraud — the largest in New York’s history — targeting no-fault automobile insurance companies exemplifies a blatant disregard for justice and fairness. Through bribery and manipulation, Pierre callously exploited the system, denying accident victims the rightful care they deserved,” commented Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office prosecuted the case.

The original indictment identified counts of health care fraud, money laundering, bribery, identity theft and fraud against the IRS as part Pierre’s scheme that involved medical clinics, doctors, business associates and law firms, including his wife’s firm.

Pierre took advantage of New York and New Jersey no-fault insurance laws that requires insurers to pay auto insurance claims automatically for certain types of motor vehicle accidents, provided that the claim is legitimate and below a particular monetary threshold. Insurance companies will often pay medical service providers directly for the treatment they provide to automobile accident victims without the need to bill the victims themselves.

According to court records, from about 2008 to 2021, Pierre agreed with others to unlawfully own and run medical clinics located in the New York area including, among others, Veda Medical, Sky Medical, Sun Medical, and Rutland Medical. Because clinics are unable to bill insurance companies for no-fault benefits if they are controlled by non-physicians, Pierre convinced doctors and others to submit bills to insurance companies falsely representing that the clinics were owned and operated by licensed doctors, and for the doctors to lie under oath during examinations under oath about the ownership, control, and finances of the clinics.

Pierre used his control of the clinics for personal profit. According to prosecutors, between 2008 and 2021, he took more than $20 million from the clinics by either transferring the funds directly to bank accounts under his control or using the clinics’ bank accounts to pay his personal finances.

He also used his control of the clinics to steer prescriptions to pharmacies in return for more than $1 million in kickbacks and to steer patients to seek legal representation from law firms he conspired with including the law firm run by his wife, Nonna Shikh. The law firms then filed lawsuits against insurance companies on patients’ behalf. Pierre maintained an office at the Shikh firm and was actively involved in the legal practice as a manager, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said that Pierre hid income from the IRS by concealing multiple bank accounts and using a series of check cashers. He improperly reported personal expenses as “business expenses.” These included payments for his wedding, home renovations, jewelry, furniture, luxury clothing, travel, and gifts. In total, Pierre underreported income, falsely reported expenses of over $4 million, and deprived the IRS of approximately $1.5 million in taxes due, according to prosecutors.

Topics Auto New York Fraud