Michael A. Sirignano

December 18, 2024 | New York Law Journal

The author writes that public awareness of staged motor vehicle accidents has been raised by the viral video of the Belt Parkway crash and the video of a person in a bear costume damaging luxury cars in California, but staged, intentionally-caused losses have been a problem for insurers for a long time.

By Michael A. Sirignano

9 minute read

September 26, 2024 | New York Law Journal

"Plainly, many believe that even audacious, high profile insurance fraud schemes will go unnoticed," write Michael A. Sirignano and Jennifer Abreu.

By Michael A. Sirignano and Jennifer Abreu

8 minute read

March 07, 2024 | New York Law Journal

The final two defendants in 'United States v. Pierre' pled guilty to charges stemming from their involvement in an insurance fraud scheme. Pending sentencing, the guilty pleas conclude a two-year prosecution that exposed a scheme to hijack New York's no-fault insurance system for personal profit.

By Michael A. Sirignano and Sean Gorton

9 minute read

November 01, 2023 | New York Law Journal

Lawsuits under the FCA can help to reduce fraud, and can lower the costs of federal insurance and other federal programs. One of the first things that parties bringing such actions, as well as defendants who are sued, should consider is whether the public disclosure bar applies.

By Michael A. Sirignano

10 minute read

August 31, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In his Insurance Law column, Michael Sirignano discusses how those who commit no-fault automobile insurance fraud using illegally owned and controlled medical corporations no longer have to be concerned solely about potential civil liability—they also should fear criminal prosecution.

By Michael A. Sirignano

9 minute read

July 06, 2023 | New York Law Journal

Personal injury attorney George Constantine and orthopedic surgeon Andrew Dowd were convicted by a Manhattan federal jury late last year for knowingly profiting from a massive $31 million trip-and-fall accident scheme.

By Michael A. Sirignano

9 minute read

May 04, 2023 | New York Law Journal

One of the most powerful tools that insurance carriers have to challenge insurance fraud is to seek to rescind a policy based on a material misrepresentation in the application for the insurance.

By Michael A. Sirignano

10 minute read

March 02, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In this article, insurance fraud columnist Michael A. Sirignano explores the health care-related information in the report in more depth and then discusses how this helps to understand the federal government's FCA enforcement priorities, as well as the priorities that private insurers should be contemplating.

By Michael A. Sirignano

10 minute read

January 05, 2023 | New York Law Journal

This column surveys a variety of Southern District of New York cases from the past 12 months, highlighting the key features of these demonstrated (or alleged) insurance frauds.

By Michael A. Sirignano

10 minute read

November 03, 2022 | New York Law Journal

Unfortunately, workers' compensation insurance programs on both the state and federal level are often "rife with fraud." In his Insurance Fraud column, Michael Sirignano discusses the three groups that are often involved in the fraud—employees, employers, and health care providers—and highlights the various schemes frequently used by each.

By Michael A. Sirignano

9 minute read