This archive report was first published on 8 November 2019.
On November 7, 2019, federal authorities arrested 27 people, including six current and former New York Police Department employees, in connection with a massive insurance fraud scheme.
The scheme, which operated from at least 2014 to November 2019, involved a network of people within hospitals, medical service providers, and law enforcement.
According to court documents, the 911 operators and a police officer provided victims' confidential contact information to the scheme's ringleaders, who then used this information to coerce victims into visiting prearranged medical clinics and lawyers.
The ringleader, Anthony Rose, 51, from Queens, would pay the call center offices for this information, and the department employees received thousands of dollars for their part in the scheme.
Prosecutors estimate that as many as 60,000 car accident victims may have had their confidential information improperly disclosed.
Mr. Rose ordered his co-conspirators to target car accident victims from low-income neighborhoods because they were more vulnerable, according to court documents.
James P. O'Neill, the police commissioner, stated, 'There is no place for corruption within the N.Y.P.D. By tarnishing the shield, as well as their sacred oaths, these employees will be held to the highest account the law provides.'
