Russian Mob and MS-13 Gang Allegedly Behind Personal Injury Schemes

(ConservativeInsider.org) – A wild scam involving Russian mobsters, members of the international cartel MS-13, corrupt surgeons, unscrupulous lawyers, and high-risk lenders was discovered in New York City in mid-June.

The scam involves recruiting immigrants to make false claims of being involved in an accident. Once the claim is in motion, the migrants are pressured into seeking unnecessary surgeries, such as spinal fusions, to make their claims seem more legitimate. It is unclear to what extent the surgeons involved knew they were participating in a scam, but they still were able to take home large sums of money through insurance claims.

Typically, the scam would begin with someone known as a “runner” recruiting a healthy person, usually a migrant or homeless person, who was lured into participating in the scam by promises of a large payout. The recruited person would walk onto a construction site and intentionally trip or fall. After their tumble, they would head to one of the doctors involved in the scam to back up their injury claims that would then be reported to insurance companies for a payout. However, as insurance payouts can take a long time, participants in the scam were told to seek high-interest loans to pay for their medical and legal bills until the payout comes through.

Payouts from such “accidents” started at $1 million but could reach much higher sums, depending on the case. Despite the recruited people risking life and limb to participate in the scam, most of the money from the insurance payout was pocketed by the “shot callers” within the gangs. Testimony from those who were recruited said that they sometimes received as little as $1,000 for their participation in the scam.

Leaders from MS-13 helped the scam by providing an endless supply of Hispanic migrants who are seeking a way to enter the US. This is not the only recent strike American authorities have made against MS-13 leaders as of late, as one high-ranking leader was arrested in Texas after several years on the run.