An attorney is facing sentencing for his role in an insurance fraud scheme estimated to be at least $1.7 million.

Joseph Haddad of Orange, Conn., is scheduled to be sentenced today in federal court in Bridgeport, Conn.

Prosecutors say Haddad, a Bridgeport-based personal injury attorney, conspired with chiropractors and others to defraud insurance companies by exaggerating the auto accident injuries of his clients and the cost of their medical care, to justify larger monetary settlements.

Authorities say the co-conspirators fabricated medical records, prescribed unnecessary pain medication and performed unnecessary chiropractic treatment.
Prosecutors say more than 10 insurance carriers lost at least $1.7 million as a result of the scheme.

Two chiropractors were sentenced last week in the case. Jennifer Lynne of Milford, Conn., received six months home confinement, while George DeCarvalho of Stamford, Conn., received 90 hours of community service.

Fraud is a serious business in North America, and reaches into all aspects of insurance.

According to numbers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an estimated $6 billion in fraudulent claims were made in connection with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 alone.

According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, fraud and ‘buildup’ added $4.8 billion to $6.8 billion in excess payments to auto injury claims in 2007. That means 13-percent to 18-percent increases in payments under private-passenger auto policies from 2002.

In Canada, insurance fraud accounts for an estimated $3 billion annually, a cost resulting in a 10 to 15 per cent of insurance premiums used to cover the cost of insurance fraud.