The City of New York has filed a federal lawsuit against Manhattan law firm Asher & Associates, accusing the firm and two of its lawyers of participating in an alleged scheme involving fraudulent personal-injury claims.
The city alleges that attorneys Ryan Asher and Roberta Asher misrepresented the circumstances surrounding injuries in at least 15 lawsuits, presenting them as accidents caused by defective roads or public property when, according to the complaint, the injuries arose from unrelated events including fights and hit-and-run incidents.
The allegations have not been established by a court.
New York City is pursuing the case under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO, as well as state and city false-claims laws.
The city is seeking triple damages and other relief.
When Litigation Conduct Becomes the Litigation
The case is significant for the legal profession because it turns lawyers’ litigation practices into the subject of a racketeering action.
Ordinarily, disputes over injury claims concern the claimant, the defendant and whether negligence caused the alleged harm.
Here, the city’s allegation is that the process itself was manipulated.
If proved, such conduct would raise serious questions involving professional ethics, fraud on the court, client representation and abuse of judicial process.
The case is also part of a wider pattern of civil RICO actions targeting allegedly fraudulent personal-injury schemes in the United States.
For lawyers internationally, the lesson is straightforward: aggressive representation remains protected; fabrication does not.
Related Stories
READ MORE: US Lawyer Faces $25m Defamation Suit
READ MORE: Farotimi Challenges Oyo High Court Jurisdiction in Defamation Case
