In a significant legal development, a major insurance company has filed a lawsuit to combat what it alleges is an extensive fraudulent scheme exploiting New York's "No-Fault" insurance system. The complaint was lodged by Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) and its subsidiaries in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on October 10, 2024, targeting multiple defendants including Surgut Leasing Corp., RVA Leasing Corp., Drak Medical Equipment, Inc., Taniyn Leasing Corp., Tatsu Leasing Corp., and several individuals.
The lawsuit accuses these entities and individuals of orchestrating the fraud to extract over $210,000 from GEICO through false claims for durable medical equipment (DME) that were either medically unnecessary or never provided. The defendants allegedly submitted millions of dollars in fraudulent charges related to items such as cold therapy units and TENS units under the guise of treating automobile accident victims insured by GEICO. According to the complaint, this operation was driven by unlawful financial arrangements between the defendants and unnamed co-conspirators.
GEICO asserts that the supplier defendants—retailers claiming to provide DME—are owned by Polina Radyushina, Tatiana Mejia Lineros, and Zhong Zhou. These so-called "Paper Owner Defendants" are accused of collaborating with others to secure prescriptions from various healthcare providers and using them to submit large volumes of fraudulent billing. The insurer claims these bills misrepresented the nature of the equipment provided and inflated reimbursement rates beyond permissible limits.
The plaintiffs seek not only recovery of funds wrongfully obtained but also a court declaration absolving them from paying over $1.7 million in pending claims tied to this alleged fraud. They argue that due to licensing violations, unlawful financial arrangements, lack of medical necessity, misrepresentation of services provided, and grossly inflated charges, they are not obligated to honor these claims.
Representing GEICO in this case are attorneys Barry I. Levy, Michael Sirignano, Michael Vanunu, and Alexandra Wolff from Rivkin Radler LLP. Case ID 1:24-cv-07137.