6 accused in Michigan car insurance fraud scheme to stand trial

Six people, including a New Jersey man, have been ordered to stand trial for allegedly running an auto insurance fraud scheme in Michigan, officials announced Friday.

Mohammed Ali Abraham, 70, of Dearborn Heights; Michael Angelo, 61, of Springfield, N.J.; Hassan Fayad, 37, of Dearborn; Robert Presley, 49, of Ferndale; Thomas Quartz, 36, of Grosse Ile; and Chitra Sinha, 80, of Bloomfield were bound over Wednesday for a Macomb County Circuit Court trial, the Michigan Attorney General's Office said.

Abraham has been charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony, three counts of using false pretenses to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000, a five-year felony, and three counts of insurance fraud, a four-year felony.

Angelo has been charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise, four counts of using false pretenses to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000, six counts of delivery of controlled substances, and three counts of insurance fraud.

Fayad has been charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise, three counts of conspiracy to use false pretenses to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000 and three counts of insurance fraud.

Presley has been charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise, two counts of delivery of controlled substances and two counts of insurance fraud.

Quartz has been charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise, two counts of conspiracy to use false pretenses to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000, and three counts of insurance fraud.

Sinha has been charged with a count of conducting a criminal enterprise, three counts of using false pretenses to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000 as well as three counts of insurance fraud.

Anita Fox, director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, said the charges are the result of a lengthy, comprehensive investigation.

"We are pleased this case is moving forward in court," she said in a statement. "We appreciate our partnership with the Attorney General to investigate insurance fraud and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. We are committed to protecting Michiganders from those who seek to exploit people who were in car crashes for their fraudulent gain."

Authorities said the defendants' fraud scheme started in 2013.

Angelo operated a legal hotline, 1-800-USLawyer, and directed callers to one of several medical enterprises he owned or controlled, officials said. Callers would then be directed through a predetermined protocol of office visits and treatments, and given prescriptions, drug screenings and physical therapy sessions.

Officials accuse the other defendants of being co-conspirators who operated the medical enterprises in Angelo's network.

Each of the businesses then billed no-fault auto insurance carriers or the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan for the uninsured patients for the treatments, authorities said.

"We have alleged here a systematic, far-reaching criminal network that we believe was operating a sophisticated insurance fraud scheme for years," Nessel said in a statement. "I am grateful for our partnership with and the efforts of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services’ Fraud Investigation Unit as well as the efforts of investigators and prosecutors within my department."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez