In Buffalo, a federal judge has sentenced Belarus native Maxim Levin to time served and ordered him to pay $334,000 restitution following a guilty plea over an extensive scheme of staging car crashes and submitting bogus insurance claims. The prosecution resulted in guilty pleas from roughly two dozen defendants, some of whom who were actually in Brooklyn at the time of claimed accidents hundreds of miles away in Buffalo. As part of a five-year program of supervised release, Levin is also supposed to finish his last semester at the University at Buffalo — in what field of study we are not informed, but one 2004 account described him as a prelaw student. In operating his First Buffalo Medical Clinic, Levin employed a bogus doctor, Mark Nepokroeff, who treated patients for nine years on a forged Mexican medical school diploma and was sentenced to four months. (Michael Beebe, “Man gets time served for staging crashes”, Jul. 7, and Dan Herbeck, “Ex-clinic head pleads guilty in phony claims from auto insurance”, Mar. 5, Buffalo News pay-archive coverage; BH Times, Jul. 8; Buffalo FBI office 2005 and 2007 releases; Johnsville News, Nov. 24, 2004; NY State Insurance Dept., Feb.). Like Greedy Trial Lawyer (Jul. 8), I find the most piquant element of the case to be the character testimonial given by Levin’s brother-in-law, trial lawyer Matthew L. Kolken, who wrote to Judge William M. Skretny asking leniency and describing the Levin family as “a classic American success story”. P.S. Kolken responds here.
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“…trial lawyer Matthew L. Kolken, who wrote to Judge William M. Skretny asking leniency and describing the Levin family as “a classic American success story”.”
Must be an industry norm eh?
Felony charges for insurance fraud = “a classic American success story.” That takes chutzpah to a whole new level.
“[B]ut one 2004 account described him as a prelaw student.”
What exactly is a prelaw student? Aren’t all college students potentially prelaw students? One is reminded of Animal House:
“Otter: Take it easy, I’m pre-law.”
“Boon: I thought you were pre-med.”
“Otter: What’s the difference?”
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