NY attorney, doctor convicted of defrauding businesses of $31M In trip-fall fraud scheme

An attorney and doctor have been convicted of defrauding New York businesses and their insurance companies of more than $31 million through a massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme.

Following a three-week trial, a jury in Manhattan just convicted George Constantine, a lawyer, and Andrew Dowd, an orthopedic surgeon, for their participation in the scheme from 2013 and 2018. Both men live on Long Island -- the 60-year-old Constantine in Plainview, and the 67-year-old Dowd in Miller Place.

The two were both found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. Dowd was also found guilty of additional counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the scheme "preyed upon poor, vulnerable, and at-times homeless individuals.

"These individuals were recruited to stage trip-and-fall accidents and undergo medically unnecessary surgeries performed by Dowd that were designed to increase the value of fraudulent personal injury lawsuits filed by Constantine. Constantine and Dowd abused their professional licenses, degrees, and titles to line their own pockets with millions of dollars, and they now face the prospect of lengthy prison sentences for their crimes."

It was common for the patients to ask for food or money when they would appear for their intake meetings with Constantine, Williams noted of the patients, many of whom he said were recruited from homeless shelters and often suffered from drug and alcohol addiction.

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:

* During the course of the fraud scheme, Constantine and Dowd together with others known and unknown, attempted to defraud the Victims of more than $31 million.

* The two relied upon a team of "runners" who were paid cash kickbacks by Constantine to recruit the patients to stage or falsely claim to have suffered trip-and-fall accidents at particular locations throughout the New York City area.

* Common accident sites used during the fraud scheme included cellar doors, cracks in concrete sidewalks, and purported "potholes" in front of commercial establishments, such as gas stations, diners, and other businesses.

* After their staged accidents, the patients were directed to go to the hospital to obtain discharge papers and then were brought to Constantine's office, by the carloads, where they met with Constantine briefly, after which he would uniformly accept their case.

* Constantine failed to ask even the most basic questions during the intake process, including the locations of the purported accidents, and yet, would file fraudulent lawsuits, under penalty of perjury, on behalf of the patients against the victims.

* During the course of the scheme, Constantine filed nearly 200 fraudulent lawsuits and earned more than $5 million dollars in settlement fees from these fraudulent cases.

* Following the patients' meeting with Constantine, the patients were driven to various medical appointments, including visits with chiropractors, physical therapists, and to obtain MRIs, all of which was designed to justify the surgical procedures on their knees, shoulders, and backs that [atients were required to have as part of the scheme.

* The patients were then driven to meet with Dowd, an orthopedic surgeon, who would perform arthroscopic knee and shoulder surgeries on patients within one to two weeks of first meeting the patients.

* Dowd paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks for these patient referrals.

* Dowd performed no physical exams on the patients and fabricated his medical reports to make it seem like the patients were injured, when in reality they were not.

* To incentivize the patients to get surgery, the patients were paid approximately $1,000 after each surgery.

* During the course of the scheme, Dowd performed nearly 300 medically unnecessary surgeries and earned more than $3.2 million dollars. Dowd received approximately $10,000 per surgery.

* The surgeries, as well as the other medical procedures, were funded by litigation funding companies, including a funding company owned by co-conspirator Adrian Alexander, even when the patient maintained medical coverage through an insurance company or a government-subsidized program.

* The funding companies also paid the fraud scheme organizers and participants referral fees, typically $1,000 to $2,500, for each patient who signed a funding agreement.

* In exchange for funding Patients' medical and legal costs, the funding companies charged the patients high interest rates. The interest rates were so high that oftentimes the majority of the proceeds that were awarded in the fraudulent lawsuits were paid to the funding companies, Constantine, and other scheme participants, with the Patients receiving a much smaller percentage of the remaining recovery.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 21, 2023.