Philly: 35 charged in fraud sting; 1 in ring

Nearly three dozen people face fraud charges after federal authorities set up a phony chiropractic clinic in Philadelphia as part of a sting operation that focused on personal-injury claims from supposed automobile accidents, authorities said.

They reported that a lawyer, Jordan B. Luber, obtained a legal settlement on behalf of two FBI agents posing as injured patients from a traffic accident.

The 35 people charged also include 31 who sought payments based on false diagnoses and nonexistent treatment, and others who got fees from the clinic for bringing in phony patients, authorities said.

Patients at the clinic, called Injury Associates, were told up front that they were going to be part of a fraud, authorities said.

The scheme resulted in more than $1.5 million in settlement demands, and over $350,000 in insurance payments on fraudulent claims, according to prosecutors.

Fraud ring

In other insurance fraud new, a suburban Philadelphia man was charged with insurance fraud after authorities said he reported his dead wife’s ring stolen and then tried to sell it online.

Police said Gary Blank, of Bensalem, Bucks County, reported his wife’s 14-karat gold diamond ring stolen two years after she died of breast cancer. The state attorney general said Blank received $23,000 from his insurance company before trying to sell the gold band on eBay. Before placing the ring up for sale he removed the three-carat diamond and gave it to a woman living with him now, according to a criminal affidavit.

State agents said they found the ring hidden in a bottle of laundry detergent.