George Constantine, Marc Elefant, Andrew Dowd, Sady Ribeiro, Trip-and-Fall Fraud, New York 2023

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Table of Contents

Four Professionals Charged in Massive Trip-and-Fall Fraud Scheme in New York City

GEORGE CONSTANTINE, MARC ELEFANT, ANDREW DOWD, and SADY RIBEIRO, four individuals with licensed professions, have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud in connection with a $31 million trip-and-fall fraud scheme.

The indictment, unsealed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that the defendants ran a massive scheme to defraud businesses and insurance companies through staged trip-and-fall accidents and false claims dating back to January 2013. The scheme is said to have involved over 400 individuals recruited to stage or fake trip-and-fall accidents at various locations in the New York City area.

According to the indictment, the scheme participants would instruct the recruited individuals, known as ‘Patients,’ to claim they had tripped and fallen at a particular location, when in fact they had suffered no such accident. Eventually, at the direction of the lawyers who filed fraudulent lawsuits on behalf of the Patients, the scheme participants began to instruct the Patients to stage trip-and-fall accidents.

After the staged trip-and-fall accidents, the Patients were referred to specific attorneys, including GEORGE CONSTANTINE and MARC ELEFANT, who would file personal injury lawsuits against the owners of the Accident Sites and/or insurance companies. The lawsuits did not disclose that the Patients had deliberately fallen at the accident sites.

GEORGE CONSTANTINE, MARC ELEFANT, ANDREW DOWD, and SADY RIBEIRO are expected to face federal charges for their alleged involvement in the massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Loretta A. Preska.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said, ‘The defendants abused their professional licenses and positions of trust to steal millions of dollars from New York City businesses and their insurance companies through a massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme.’ Audrey Strauss continued, ‘In carrying out the scheme, the defendants allegedly preyed upon the most vulnerable members of society. Now, thanks to the FBI, the defendants are in custody and facing federal charges.’

GEORGE CONSTANTINE, MARC ELEFANT, ANDREW DOWD, and SADY RIBEIRO are expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court on the next available date.