US Resident of Ukrainian Descent Guilty in Largest Auto Insurance Fraud

 

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Hewlett, New York resident Mikhail Zemlyansky is guilty of racketeering in the largest no-fault automobile insurance fraud scheme ever charged in the United States, and guilty of defrauding investors in two other schemes, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement on Friday.

“Mikhail Zemlyansky now stands convicted of spearheading three fraud schemes: one in which the defendant and his co-conspirators billed insurance companies for over $100 million in fraudulent medical treatments, and two that swindled investors out of over $18 million,” US Attorney Preet Bharara was quoted as saying in the statement.

Zemlyansky — who was born in Ukraine — was the leader of a ring engaged in defrauding insurers out of more than $279 million in accident benefits, multiple securities fraud schemes, money laundering and the operation of illegal gambling businesses, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

The ring exploited the New York no-fault insurance system that guarantees car accident victims up to $50,000 in medical benefits.

The criminal enterprise paid money to establish bogus bank accounts, coached patients to fake injuries and prescribed unneeded medical treatment, the statement said.

Zemlyansky, also known as “Russian Mike,” was initially arrested in February 2012, but a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in his first trial in 2013.

Zemlyansky is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15, according to the US Attorney’s Office. His prison sentence might exceed 100 years.