The Only Solution to Fraud is to Take the Profit Out of the Crime
It Takes Courage to Fight the Fraudster
Post number 5395
Posted on July 16, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Vivian Maritza Triana Marin, Sebastian Arroyave Penagos, and Daniel Arroyave Penagos v. Marc J. Paynter and Transport Marc Paynter Inc., No. 23-CV-6498, United States District Court, E.D. New York (July 10, 2026) Plaintiffs sued Defendants in diversity after a rear-end collision on the Whitestone Expressway in Queens, New York. Plaintiffs were in a Subaru driven by Vivian Maritza Triana Marin, while Defendant Marc J. Paynter drove a Transport Marc Paynter Inc. tractor-trailer.
Facts:
Dashcam footage from Defendants’ vehicle showed Plaintiffs’ vehicle braking suddenly in the left lane despite an open roadway ahead. Marin could not identify a specific reason for braking, the passenger plaintiffs did not know why she braked, and a non-party witness testified that Plaintiffs’ vehicle stopped abruptly for no apparent reason.
The Accident occurred when Defendants’ vehicle contacted the rear bumper of Plaintiffs’ vehicle. Marin testified that she was traveling at the posted speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour prior to the Accident, and that she decelerated by removing her foot from the accelerator prior to impact. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants’ vehicle was “overtaking cars on the right while remaining in the left lane. Defendants acknowledge that Defendants’ vehicle was in the left lane but contend that the Video shows that other vehicles were passing Defendants’ vehicle on the right.
On March 21, 2024, Plaintiffs’ no-fault insurance carrier, LM General Insurance Company, also known as “Liberty Mutual,” filed an action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Nassau County, against Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ healthcare providers, seeking a declaratory judgment that the Accident was “not the product of a covered event as it was the product of staged and/or intentional event,” which was “perpetrated by [Plaintiffs] with the intent to obtain insurance benefits that [Plaintiffs] would not otherwise be entitled to receive.”
The prior no-fault litigation and arbitration proceedings involved allegations that the accident was staged, even though Plaintiffs were discontinued from the state action without prejudice and were not parties to the arbitrations.
LAW:
Summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Reliable video evidence may control over a party’s contrary version of events when the recording blatantly contradicts that version. For fraud under New York law, Defendants had to establish material misrepresentation or omission, knowledge of falsity, intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance, and damages by clear and convincing evidence.
DISCUSSION:
The court found the dashcam video dispositive on liability.
It showed Defendants’ tractor-trailer maintaining a steady and safe distance for approximately thirty-five seconds before Plaintiffs’ vehicle suddenly braked with no vehicle, obstruction, pothole, construction, or other hazard ahead.
Plaintiffs’ explanations were speculative, while the video and witness testimony supported Defendants’ position that the unexplained stop caused the accident. The court rejected Plaintiffs’ arguments that Defendants failed to maintain a safe distance or improperly used the left lane, finding no causal violation sufficient to impose liability on Defendants.
ANALYSIS:
Because the undisputed video evidence eliminated any reasonable inference that Defendants caused the collision, the court held that Plaintiffs’ vehicle was the sole proximate cause of the accident.
Liability was resolved in Defendants’ favor and made it unnecessary to address Defendants’ alternative argument that Plaintiffs failed to satisfy New York’s serious-injury threshold. However, the fraud counterclaim survived because the prior state action and no-fault arbitration decisions had no preclusive effect against Plaintiffs, and Defendants did not adequately establish each fraud element on summary judgment.
CONCLUSION:
Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on liability was denied. Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on liability was granted.
Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the fraud counterclaim was denied, leaving that counterclaim for trial.
ZALMA OPINION
The swoop and squat is a type of insurance fraud where the driver of the fraudster’s car stops suddenly in front of an 18 Wheeler assuming it is insured and then making fake bodily injury claims. Plaintiffs sued Defendants in diversity after a rear-end collision on the Whitestone Expressway in Queens, New York. Plaintiffs attempted fraud by stopping in the middle of a highway in front of Marc J. Paynter’stractor-trailer. He fought and counterclaimed for damages. The trial will decide if Paynter can prove the fraud and get damages from the criminals.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.
Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html
In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.
The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.
Law
The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.
The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...
Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution
Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr
In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.
Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.
After Great American ...
Inadequately Briefed Issues Defeats Appeal
Post 4852
Issues on Appeal Must be Adequately Briefed
Posted on September 25, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Emy Ojekwe v. Connecticut Transit District Consortium, No. AC 47389, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (September 22, 2026) Emy Ojekwe alleged that he was injured on September 24, 2020, while leaving a bus operated by Connecticut Transit District Consortium, doing business as Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority.
According to his complaint, the wheelchair ramp began to rise before he had fully exited, causing his wheelchair to fall backward and allegedly injuring several parts of his body and damaging the wheelchair. The defendant denied negligence and alleged comparative negligence. After a two-day jury trial in November 2023, the jury returned a defense verdict.
The trial court denied Ojekwe’s motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial, and he appealed.
LAW
A trial court’s refusal to set aside a verdict because of counsel’s improper remarks is reviewed for abuse of ...
Inadequately Briefed Issues Defeats Appeal
Post 4852
Issues on Appeal Must be Adequately Briefed
Posted on September 25, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Emy Ojekwe v. Connecticut Transit District Consortium, No. AC 47389, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (September 22, 2026) Emy Ojekwe alleged that he was injured on September 24, 2020, while leaving a bus operated by Connecticut Transit District Consortium, doing business as Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority.
According to his complaint, the wheelchair ramp began to rise before he had fully exited, causing his wheelchair to fall backward and allegedly injuring several parts of his body and damaging the wheelchair.
LAW
Refusal to set aside a verdict because of counsel’s improper remarks is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
Appellate claims receiving only cursory treatment, without record citations, supporting authority, or legal analysis, are inadequately briefed.
DISCUSSION
Improper opening remarks.
Defense counsel referred to Ojekwe’s national origin,...
Psychiatrist Who Was Convicted of Fraud Asked the First Circuit to Reduce his Punishment
Post 4851
Posted on September 24, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraud to Private and Public Health Insurers Doesn’t Pay
In United States v. Gustavo Kinrys, Nos. 24-1592, 24-1716, United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit (September 21, 2026) Gustavo Kinrys, a Massachusetts psychiatrist, submitted fraudulent claims to private and public health insurers from 2015 through 2018, including bills for more than 1,000 sessions when he or the purported patient was outside the country. When insurers requested supporting records, he delayed through a fictitious office manager and created false documentation.
A jury convicted Kinrys on fourteen counts. The district court imposed a 99-month sentence, calculated intended loss at slightly more than $19 million based on billed amounts, ordered $6,537,309.59 in restitution, and ordered $6,527,391.19 in forfeiture.
At sentencing, the district court calculated Kinrys’s base offense level to be ...
