HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Nov. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate Insurance
is seeking to recover more than $5
million from 21 New York-area defendants in its fifth
insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint, filed under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") and
New York common law, alleges that
17 laypersons and lay entities illegally owned and controlled three
professional acupuncture corporations and used them to submit
fraudulent billing to Allstate. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 33
fraud lawsuits in New York,
seeking nearly $180 million in
damages.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, the state of
New York is in an insurance fraud
crisis and no-fault fraud is costing New Yorkers hundreds of
millions of dollars year-after-year. "In essence, honest,
hardworking New Yorkers are paying a 'fraud
tax,'" said Krista Conte,
spokesperson for Allstate's New
York office. "We need lawmakers to enact meaningful
insurance reform that puts the citizens of New York first."
As detailed in the lawsuit, Allstate contends that professional
service corporations were actually owned and controlled by
laypersons, rather than by licensed professionals. In addition, the
lawsuit alleges that the defendants submitted or facilitated the
submission of claims for acupuncture services through professional
corporations that were never eligible to collect no-fault insurance
benefits. The suit contends that Points of Health Acupuncture,
P.C., Altercare Acupuncture, P.C., and Eastern Star Acupuncture,
P.C. were fraudulently incorporated through a scheme using the name
of a licensed acupuncturist, Anatoly
Yuryev, and that Vladimir
Sirota, Igor Belyansky, Ella
Sushevich, Yaroslav Kotlovskiy, Svetlana Kotlovskiy, Igor Tsimmerman, Gennadiy Belzer, Hadley
Benoit, Vlad Management Group, L.L.C., Regional Marketing,
Inc., Tristate N.Y. L.L.C., Atlantis N.Y. L.L.C., KYDS L.L.C., ITA
Family, L.P., Conduit Consulting L.L.C., LGB Corp., and Queens
Brook Management Co., Inc., none of whom were licensed to practice
acupuncture or operate an acupuncture practice, secretly owned and
controlled the professional corporations.
Allstate is joined by other insurers and many New York State leaders in its pursuit for
comprehensive reform of the no-fault system. "The no-fault
system is being exploited and responsible citizens are the
victims," Conte said. "Without the support of lawmakers, incidents
of fraud will continue to increase. We need to work together to fix
the broken no-fault system."
The lawsuit was filed following an investigation by Allstate's
Special Investigative Unit and seeks reimbursement for personal
injury protection benefits Allstate paid on behalf of its customers
during timeframes specified in the lawsuit. The lawsuit is
the latest in a string of actions taken by the insurer to protect
consumers from these and similar activities.
For more information on the dangers of insurance fraud, and how
you can help fight it, please visit Fraud Costs NY.
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer known for its "You're In Good
Hands With Allstate®" slogan. Now celebrating its 80th
anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is reinventing protection and
retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they
have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access
Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and
services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and
Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and
Canada, as well as via
www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.
SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company