{"id":190269,"date":"2026-04-09T00:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/190269\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T00:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:02:10","slug":"nyc-lawyer-ran-massive-insurance-fraud-ring-staging-car-accidents-to-drive-up-payouts-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/190269\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC lawyer ran massive insurance fraud ring staging car accidents to drive up payouts: suit"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Brooklyn-based personal injury attorney allegedly ran a massive scheme that used staged car accidents to drive up insurance payouts, according to a new, bombshell lawsuit \u2014 that comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul ramps up her campaign<\/a> to crack down on such scams.<\/p>\n

FedEx filed the 92-page suit Tuesday accusing the Ikhilov Law Group and its owner, attorney Zorik \u201cErik\u201d Ikhilov, of running a sophisticated ring also involving doctors and medical providers that aimed to bilk the delivery giant through bogus liability claims<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe staged accidents, coordinated medical referrals, and rapid escalation to injections or surgeries all serve a single purpose which is manufacturing the statutory prerequisites necessary to commence a personal injury action,\u201d states the Manhattan federal court filing.<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for changes surrounding New York\u2019s laws around who is liable in a car accident in an effort to reduce car insurance costs. Matt Roberts\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The group allegedly staged or exaggerated vehicle wrecks and routed phony victims through rounds and rounds of medical treatments to inflate medical bills and target FedEx and the company\u2019s \u201cdeep pockets,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiling such a suit is the only path to the substantial recoveries the enterprise seeks to extract,\u201d the court papers state.<\/p>\n

The case is being brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, RICO, Act, usually used to go after gang and mob operations.<\/p>\n

It comes as Hochul has been pushing her proposal to alter New York\u2019s liability statute, which has become a particularly thorny sticking point<\/a> holding up the state budget which is over a week late with no end in sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all the legislators claiming fraud doesn\u2019t exist, here\u2019s your proof,\u201d Tom Stebbins, Executive Director, Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, wrote in a statement to The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case should be required reading in Albany. New York\u2019s liability laws enable and reward lawyer-led criminal enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul is facing resistance from the state legislature, which is hesitant to make changes that could leave victims without compensation in the event of an accident. Don Pollard\/Office of Governor Hochul<\/p>\n

The suit lays out four cases in which the \u201centerprise\u201d allegedly sought to milk FedEx through bogus claims, including one involving a minor accident where one of the company\u2019s delivery drivers tapped the bumper of another vehicle at a red light.<\/p>\n

Photographs taken by the driver showed minimal damage to either vehicle and first responders weren\u2019t called.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But the claimant, two days later, went to a doctor connected with Ikhilov\u2019s alleged scheme where he was diagnosed with much more severe injuries and directed to chiropractic care at the same clinic, the suit states.<\/p>\n

He would go on to receive several surgeries at the referral and hand of other doctors named in the scheme. Meanwhile, he was paying for these procedures using a loan from a law firm also with connections to Ikhilov, that was allegedly providing kickbacks to the doctors and other schemers, according to the suit.<\/p>\n

FedEx is suing Zorik \u201cErik\u201d Ikhilov of running a sophisticated ring also involving doctors and medical providers that aimed to bilk the delivery giant through bogus liability claims. Facebook\/Erik Ikhilov<\/p>\n

\u201cFedEx is committed to protecting our customers and team members from fraudulent behavior,\u201d a company spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cWe have filed this litigation to address concerning patterns in certain auto accidents and medical claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he faces accusations in the suit that he shepherded clients through unnecessary spinal surgeries, Ikhilov\u00a0 boasts on his Instagram about receiving a bougie custom office chair from \u201c1-800-Accident\u201d emblazoned with his initials.<\/p>\n

A man who answered a phone number listed for Ikhilov Wednesday said something unintelligible before hanging up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hochul, meanwhile, was in the Big Apple on Wednesday, using the New York International Auto Show as a backdrop for the ongoing debate. She announced new efforts to coordinate between state financial regulators and the state police to identify and prosecute fraud rings like the ones FedEx alleges of Ikhilov.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers also contend that Hochul\u2019s suggested changes should include some sort of guarantee that the insurance industry will pass savings along to drivers. adragan \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a few sophisticated criminal enterprises, networks of drivers, lawyers and medical providers who are staging elaborate crashes in order to have jackpot payouts,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n

Hochul is proposing changing the legal definition of \u201cserious injury\u201d to cut down on the number of frivolous and fraudulent claims as well cap the amount of damages victims can receive in cases where they\u2019re uninsured or convicted of impaired driving or a felony in connection with an accident.<\/p>\n

The state Legislature has so far refused to budge much, dug in around the argument that they err on the side of protecting victims, even if an accident is their fault.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a pretty serious thing for people to accept. I mean, accidents do happen. People have been in accidents and it\u2019s your fault, and if you get severely injured under this, you won\u2019t be able to get pain and suffering,\u201d Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) told reporters late last week, acknowledging the sticking point.<\/p>\n

Erik Ikhilov in an undated Instagram photo. Instagram\/ikhilov_associates<\/p>\n

Others contend that Hochul\u2019s proposal doesn\u2019t guarantee that the changes will result in lower insurance rates for drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re all talking about high insurance rates, which we definitely want to combat, putting more money in the pockets of insurance companies doesn\u2019t accomplish that goal unless you make sure it ends up with consumers,\u201d Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris told reporters Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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But Hochul is entrenched on the issue as a plank in her \u201caffordability\u201d platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to do it. They have to do it,\u201d Hochul said Wednesday of the resistance from legislative leaders.<\/p>\n

The pro-litigation New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the largest lobby group for the sector, and one with deep connections amongst legislators, has been fiercely opposed<\/a> to the proposal.<\/p>\n

Uber has also turned heads, reportedly shoveling a massive $8 billion into pushing in favor of the effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Brooklyn-based personal injury attorney allegedly ran a massive scheme that used staged car accidents to drive up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4241,76248,426,57,9,56,63,65,64,4281,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-190269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-albany","9":"tag-heastie","10":"tag-kathy-hochul","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-state-budget","18":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}