HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate Insurance
is seeking to recover more than $1.1
million from sixteen New
York-area defendants in its ninth insurance fraud lawsuit of
2011. The complaint, filed in Federal District Court, on
December 30, 2011, as a Declaratory
Judgment/Recovery action, alleges that a chiropractor, along with
one layperson and two lay entities illegally owned and controlled
three professional medical corporations allegedly owned on paper by
a medical doctor and used them to submit fraudulent billing to
Allstate. In addition, four other individuals and four other
companies were also named as being part of the overall scheme to
submit fraudulent bills to Allstate. Since 2007, Allstate has filed
thirty-six fraud lawsuits in New
York, seeking nearly $199
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 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 medical professionals. In
addition, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants submitted claims
for services that were performed by independent contractors in
violation of the No-Fault Law. There were also incidents of illegal
referrals to a person who had a financial interest. The suit
contends that B.J.Y. Freeport Medical, P.C., B.Y.,M.D., P.C. and
Innovative Medical, P.C. were fraudulently incorporated through a
scheme using the name of a licensed medical doctor, Benjamin Yentel, M.D. However, those medical
entities were actually run by Stanley
Anderson, D.C. and his wife Jill
Anderson. Not one of these individuals is a medical doctor.
There were also two management companies that were utilized to
effectuate this scheme. They were HISLI, Inc. and Steady Management
Corp.
Included in this lawsuit are claims for improper self-referral
against Mary Jean Palma Endozo and
her company Oasis Physical Therapy, P.C. There is also an unjust
enrichment claim against Anna
Neidorf and her company, Ranj Corporation, Ashraf Hafez and his company Top Rehab Inc as
well as Olga Bard and her company
Soft Touch Acupuncture, P.C.
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. Widely known through the
"You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, 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