Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
The scam smelled an awful lot like one from California. Picking out a victim in a late-model car, getting into position just in front of him, then slamming on the brakes to cause a rear-end collision. “Oh, my aching back. Oh, my aching neck.”
Or arranging for one car to crash into another car, both drivers part of the scam. “Oh, my aching back. Oh, my aching neck.”
Then all the injured people sought the assistance of more-than-willing attorneys and doctors. “Oh, his aching back. Oh, his aching neck.”
Tens of millions of dollars worth of claims. All bogus, say the authorities who cracked the case. And many of the accidents endangered innocent people, sometimes causing serious bodily injuries.
The recent arrest of two Californians, Amir Zamyad and Michael Rapapport, may be the start of breaking up the extensive ring of fraud artists. It is alleged that the two men have been involved in recruiting people to take part in the bogus collisions, to locate health care professionals to file the medical claims and to open law firms to pursue those claims. It is further alleged that Rapapport, who was born in Russia, often visits a Los Angeles bar patronized by members of Russian organized crime.
FBI searches came up with over $200,000 in stashed cash. Both men are out on bail pending their trials on charges of mail fraud.
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media