Closter man admits to role in $60M insurance scheme

A Closter man has pleaded guilty in New York federal court of running a $60 million insurance scheme for over 10 years.

Bradley Pierre, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May, said a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Pierre targeted no-fault car insurance companies in his scheme from 2008 to 2021. No-fault insurance laws in New York and New Jersey require car insurers to pay for claims automatically for certain kinds of accidents if the claims are legitimate and below a certain amount of money.

Under these requirements, "insurance companies will often pay medical service providers directly for the treatment they provide to automobile accident victims without the need to bill the victims themselves. This process resolves automobile claims without apportioning blame or fault for the accident, thereby avoiding protracted disputes and the costs associated with an extended investigation of the accident," the statement said.

Pierre, with others, unlawfully owned and ran medical clinics in New York that were prohibited from billing insurance companies for no-fault benefits because they were controlled by non-physicians.

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"For over a decade, ... Pierre led one of the largest no-fault insurance frauds in the history of New York, bribing medical professionals and others, scamming insurance companies, defrauding the IRS and ultimately denying many accident victims fair and proper treatment because of his rigged system," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. "But innocent victims will not stand alone. Those who seek to shamelessly reap the benefits of scams like this will be brought to justice."

Williams said Pierre agreed to submit bills to insurance companies and falsely represented that the clinics were owned and run by licensed doctors. He coached doctors to lie under oath about the ownership, control and finances of the clinics, the statement said.

Additionally, Pierre personally profited from the clinics, taking over $20 million and putting it in his bank account directly or using the clinics' bank accounts to pay for personal expenses.

Williams said Pierre received over $1 million in kickbacks by using his control of the clinics to "steer prescriptions to pharmacies" and "to steer patients to seek legal representation with his wife's law firm, the Law Firm of Nonna Shikh." The Shikh Firm would file lawsuits on behalf of the patients, and Pierre was involved with them as a manager.

He had patients seek MRIs at a clinic he controlled and had the owner of the facility falsely report injuries, which allowed the clinics to bill insurance companies for "additional, unnecessary medical services" and allowed false injury claims in lawsuits, Williams said.

In addition, Pierre used two companies in connection with the health care and bribery schemes to commit tax evasion. He hid income from the IRS using these companies, creating multiple bank accounts and using check cashers for checks made out to those companies. He paid for personal expenses out of those accounts but reported them as business expenses, including his wedding, home reservations, jewelry, furniture, luxury clothing, travel and gifts.

Pierre underreported his income and falsely reported expenses of over $4 million while depriving the IRS of $1.5 million in taxes, the statement said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Closter NJ man admits to role in $60M insurance scheme