Wednesday, June 7, 2000
Fraud ring smashedFake accidents worth millions: Cops
In a series of pre-dawn raids, police arrested 32 people in Toronto, Woodbridge, Mississauga and Markham as Project Slip concluded, including three doctors, two chiropractors and a paralegal working at United Personal Injuries Associates. All of those charged were released with promises to appear in Old City Hall court at 2 p.m. July 18. Two of the family doctors shared a practice, but lead investigator Det. Doug Peacocke of 52 Division's major-crime unit said it was a man acting as recruiter who kept the alleged conspiracy functioning for at least a year. The recruiter found people who would stage the fake falls on TTC property or file bogus auto-accident claims involving soft-tissue injuries, and then allegedly steered them to medical and legal experts to make false claims. The recruiter would be present when the bogus victim was treated by ambulance and the case investigated by police. The recruiter also stayed with the victim as a legal claim was initiated by a paralegal, and arranged appointments with medical practitioners aligned with the scam. Insp. Kim Derry wasn't sure how the money was divided among the accused when they collected on claims, but he added doctors would also file claims to OHIP and insurance companies for treatment. Derry said staging accidents is a relatively new scam "but this case took on a business-like process involving doctors, paralegals, rehab clinics and recruitment." FAKE ACCIDENTS He said the fake accidents tied up ambulance attendants and hospital personnel, threatening the welfare of others. The accused "are not violent, but they're more sophisticated, with links to other various professionals who are willing to involve themselves in financial schemes," Derry said. Although auto accidents were submitted to police reporting centres, Peacocke said no real accidents occurred during the scheme. He said other paralegals and doctors are being investigated. Derry said payouts on no-fault claims reached $25,000. TTC lawyer Brian Leck said there must be changes to no-fault insurance legislation, which forces the commission to pay claimants within 14 days of notification. "Within that time, it's difficult to conduct any kind of an investigation other than some interviews and surveillance," he said. Leck said the TTC made $4.1 million in no-fault payments last year, out of a total $10 million in all insurance payments. Terri MacLean, vice-president of the Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau, said insurance fraud adds 10% to 15% to policy costs. Among those arrested are: Nikolas Bellomo, 35, of Toronto, charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, 10 counts of mischief and 29 counts of fraud over $5,000; Dr. Albert Wong, 37, of Toronto, charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence; Dr. Alexander Donskoy, 42, of Toronto, charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000; Dr. Kenneth Lam, 36, of Markham, charged with conspiracy; chiropractor Saeid Sarafian, 40, of Toronto, charged with conspiracy; chiropractor Karim Ali, 31, of Toronto, charged with fraud over $5,000; and paralegal Loreto Scarola, 39, of Toronto, charged with two counts of mischief and four counts of fraud over $5,000. Previous story: Slain loner kept to self Next story: 2 left dead in parking argument
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