The Insurance Scheme

The Defendant was a chiropractor in New Jersey who had known the schemer since 1953, when the schemer was a patient. In the late 1950s, the Defendant briefly encountered Richard's brother, William the schemer, while working as a prison guard at a penitentiary. In 1972, William the schemer telephoned the Defendant repeatedly and demanded that he fill out a false medical report certifying injuries that had never occurred — injuries that would be used to support a fraudulent insurance claim as part of a staged-accident ring. When the Defendant refused, the schemer made veiled but unmistakable threats: he told the Defendant he knew where he lived, and warned that the Defendant should not leave his wife alone. The Defendant considered calling the Police but did not, hoping the problem would simply go away. He filled out the fraudulent medical report for a fictitious patient. He received no compensation. After filling out the report, the Defendant moved and had his telephone number unlisted. An Essex County grand jury indicted eleven defendants in a 48-count fraud scheme. Most co-defendants, including William the schemer, pleaded guilty. The Defendant went to trial and testified to the duress.