Guilty Plea in New York Slip and Fall Fraud
New York attorney Marc Elefant has reversed his previous non-guilty plea, now pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the organization of a lucrative slip and fall scheme. Elefant is accused of coordinating the trip and fall scam with fellow attorney, George Constantine, and physicians Andrew Dowd and Sandy Riberio, between 2013 and 2018. According to Reuters, Elefant worked with co-conspirators to recruit victims to stage slip and fall accidents. The victims would undergo unnecessary surgeries that would be paid for by litigation funders. As part of the conspiracy, litigation investor Adrian Alexander was also charged with a role in the slip and fall fraud run by Elefant. Prosecutors claim that the trip and fall scheme was organized to fake personal injuries. Allegedly, surgeries were required if victims wanted to proceed with a slip and fall claim to maximize the fraud's potential returns. According to Reuters, individuals saw little-to-no recovery from their claims with most of the monies distributed between the co-conspirators.