Brooklyn Borough President

BOROUGH PRESIDENT COMMENDS FEDERAL & LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FOR BUSTING BROOKLYN AUTO INSURANCE SCAM

“I want to congratulate Manhattan U.S. District Attorney James Comey, the FBI and the New York City Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation Division for Thursday’s arrest, after a two year investigation, of 18 people involved in an auto insurance scam involving bogus claims for phony car accidents in Brooklyn,” said Borough President Markowitz. “A number of newspaper reports noted that a Brooklyn medical clinic bilked insurance companies out of $3.4 million. In fact, it is the citizens of Brooklyn who were scammed because the insurance companies pass on their inflated costs to drivers across the borough. According to experts, insurance fraud is the main reason premiums in Brooklyn are the highest in the state, probably the country. Our rates are often 400% higher than in other parts of the state. That is why I have formed a Brooklyn Auto Insurance Task force, which met for the first time in September, to help lower these soaring rates. One way we can do this is by cracking down on insurance fraud, which is the second most costly white-collar crime in America. I urge insurance companies, the criminal justice community and state insurance regulators to continue working with me to tackle this deadly serious economic and public safety issue. Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime against an anonymous insurance company, it is picking the pocket of every car owner in Brooklyn.”