Kensington

Kensington doctor, lawyer busted in almost $1 million insurance fraud scheme

November 19, 2018 By Christina Carrega Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Photo by Hush Naidoo courtesy of Unsplash
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The owner and operator of a fake Ocean Parkway medical clinic was indicted for running a million-dollar motor vehicle no-fault insurance scheme with an attorney and three others, prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Between July 2016 and July 2017, David Safir, who is not a licensed physician, allegedly owned and controlled Jamaica Wellness Medical P.C. in Kensington and directed patients injured in motor vehicle accidents to exaggerate their injuries to submit to insurance companies. Safir paid runners like Theron Grinage — who misrepresented himself as an attorney — to entice accident victims to go along with the scheme and never receive treatment.

Attorney Nadezhda Ursulova allegedly worked with Safir to transfer ownership of the clinic to himself and Dr. Alexander Haselkorn in order to not actually treat patients. Instead, patients were “diagnosed and referred for thousands of dollars of treatment, diagnostic testing and medical supplies by Dr. Haselkorn’s wife, Roberta Haselkorn, who is not a licensed medical provider,” prosecutors said. 

Attorney General Barbara Underwood explained in a press release that in New York state, a person injured in a motor vehicle accident is automatically covered by the Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Insurance Reparations Act, commonly referred to as the “no-fault” law. No-fault insurance provides up to $50,000 per person toward medical expenses for persons injured in automobile accidents, when such services are deemed medically necessary and provided by a duly licensed medical professional.

Ursulova also allegedly concealed Safir’s illegal ownership and Alexander Haselkorn’s incapacity from insurance companies. 

Under New York state law, only a medical clinic owned and controlled by a licensed medical professional can bill for no-fault reimbursement.

Safir and his crew allegedly obtained over $1 million through their operation and, to further conceal his illegal ownership of the clinic, cashed over $380,000 in checks written out to the clinic. 

The Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Investigations and the Northeast Region of the National Insurance Crime Bureau conducted a joint investigation that indicted all the schemers in a 61-count indictment.

All of the accused were arraigned on the indictment in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Thursday. Justice Danny Chun set separate bails for defendants, ranging from $5,000 to $1 million bond.

If convicted of the top counts, Safir faces up to five to 15 years in prison. The Haselkorns, Ursulova and Grinage each face up to two and-a-third to seven years in prison.

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