Six Defendants to Stand Trial in Michigan Insurance Fraud Case
Six defendants will stand trial on charges alleging the group operated an auto insurance fraud scheme targeting Michigan residents involved in automobile collisions, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Anita Fox, Director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services announced on March 15.
It is alleged that, beginning in 2013, Michael Angelo, of New Jersey, ran a lawyer hotline, 1-800-USLawyer, and funneled auto accident callers into an elaborate insurance fraud scheme, directing the callers to one or several of the many medical enterprises owned or controlled by Angelo.
The referred caller allegedly would be directed through a predetermined protocol of office visits, device and injection treatments, medication prescriptions, and drug screenings, physical therapy sessions and diagnostic imaging all performed within Angelo’s network of enterprises or those operated by coconspirators. It is alleged that each business then billed the no-fault auto insurance carriers (or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan for the uninsured patients) for the respective treatments.
Angelo, 61, faces one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, as well as three counts of insurance fraud.
Mohammed Ali Abraham, 70, of Dearborn Heights; Michael Angelo, 61, of Springfield, N.J.; Hassan Fayad, 37, of Dearborn; Robert Presley, 49, of Ferndale; Thomas Quartz, 36, of Grosse Ile; and Chitra Sinha, 80, of Bloomfield, also face counts of conducting a criminal enterprise and insurance fraud.
“After a lengthy, comprehensive investigation, we are pleased this case is moving forward in court. We appreciate our partnership with the Attorney General to investigate insurance fraud and hold those responsible accountable for their actions,” said Fox.
Portions of the investigation were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who turned evidence over to state authorities after conclusion of federal review. Further investigative work was conducted by the Michigan Department of Attorney General and the DIFS Fraud Investigation Unit.