N.Y. Attorney General Announces Conviction in Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Scheme
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced this week the felony conviction of an insurance fraudster who scammed no-fault insurance companies out of millions of dollars.
Officials said Arthur Bogoraz pleaded guilty to Money Laundering in the Second Degree (a class “C” felony) and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree (a class “E” felony) for a massive insurance scheme in which he defrauded providers by using stolen identification information to set up medical practices, sent false bills to insurance companies and then laundered more than $8 million in fraudulently filed claims.
He will be sentenced to three-and-a-half years to seven years in prison on the C felony and one-and-a-half years to three years in prison on the E felony, to run concurrent. As part of his plea, he released any and all interest he has in the corrupt entities involved in his no-fault scheme.
Officials said Bogoraz admitted that between July 2006 and December 2010, in Kings County, N.Y., and elsewhere, he defrauded no-fault insurance companies of millions of dollars through a complex scheme involving stolen identities from medical doctors. He admitted that as part of his scheme, he 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.
Officials said Bogoraz admitted that once the doctors agreed to work with him, he exploited his access to their personal information and set up separate radiology corporations without their knowledge or consent. He forged the doctors’ signatures on incorporation documents, leases and bank documents.
Using their stolen identities, Bogoraz opened and operated multiple radiology corporations. He then filed no-fault insurance claims and collected the money in bank accounts he established using the doctors’ names and personal information, diverting the money to himself.
Bogoraz further admitted that in addition to managing the radiology corporations and accounts, he controlled a law firm, so that he could launder insurance monies. He admitted that through his scheme, over a five-year period, he stole more than $8 million from insurance companies.
In New York State, no-fault insurance companies provide payments to persons who are injured in motor vehicle accidents to cover their medical bills and other necessary expenses, up to $50,000 per person per accident. The companies may also provide direct repayment to the healthcare providers who treated the persons following an accident.
Source: New York State Attorney General’s Office