HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate Insurance Company is seeking to recover $5 million against 10 New York area defendants in its fourth insurance fraud lawsuit of 2011. The complaint specifically cites one physician, five medical professional corporations, one corporation, and three non-physician individuals. Since 2003, Allstate has filed 31 fraud lawsuits in New York State, seeking more than $170 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."
The complaint alleges that five New York medical professional corporations – J.P. Medical, P.C., Accurate Medical, P.C., Nolia Medical, P.C., Quality Medical Healthcare Provider, P.C., and CAN Medical, P.C. - were fraudulently incorporated through a scheme using the names of licensed medical physicians, and that a lay-owner, who was not a physician secretly owned and controlled the medical professional corporations. Allstate's complaint further alleges that a corporation – Uptown Health Care Management, Inc. – established a surgery center in the Bronx and a medical clinic in Manhattan which fraudulently billed Allstate Insurance Company.
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 time frames 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 at www.fraudcostsnewyork.org.
The Allstate Corporation 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