Lawyer takes plea in $279M no-fault auto insurance fraud case
One of three lawyers charged in what authorities have described as a record-breaking $279 million New York auto insurance fraud scheme has taken a plea.
Sol Naimark, 54, pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Manhattan to conspiracy to commit health fraud and faces up to 20 years when he is sentenced in July, according to a FBI press release.
A total of 10 of the 36 defendants in the case have now pleaded guilty. Naimark was accused of participating in a scheme in which personal injury suits were filed by plaintiffs who had received unnecessary medical treatment for exaggerated injuries and admitted paying for referrals of patients on whose behalf he could sue.
“Sol Naimark actively solicited clients for whom he could churn out bogus lawsuits as part of a multi-million-dollar insurance fraud scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in the release. “It is particularly egregious when an attorney uses his license to perpetrate a fraud.”
Naimark did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning from the ABA Journal.
Health clinic operators also were allegedly involved in obtaining fast-track payment, under the state’s no-fault insurance law, for medical expenses for unneeded treatment.
Two other lawyers, Matthew Conroy and Maria Diglio, also have been charged in the case.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “3 Lawyers Among 36 Charged in ‘Obscenely Profitable’ $279M Auto Insurance Fraud Case”
