A trio of New York men recruited poor and homeless people to participate in a slip-and-fall scheme.

According to The Associated Press, the men were convicted by a jury following the conclusion of a three-week trial on Tuesday for concocting a $31.7 million scam.

Bryan Duncan, Robert Locust and Ryan Rainford were found guilty of conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Duncan, an alleged leader of the scheme, was found guilty of additional counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.

The New York Post reports Peter Kalkanis, a former chiropractor, was the true ring leader, guiding and orchestrating the other three men. Kalkanis was also convicted for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as mail and wire fraud.

As early as 2013, the men began seeking out people to be involved in the trip and fall incidents. The recruits were part of an undisclosed number of staged accidents. Sometime after the accident, the participants were steered to particular chiropractors and doctors.

Then, fraudulent lawsuits were filed. The crux of the scheme hinged on what body parts were allegedly injured during the falls. Many of these "falls" were caused by tripping over cracks in the concrete and/or on cellar doors. The fake patients would claim their knees, shoulders and/or backs were injured because these injuries guaranteed a higher payout.

For nearly five years, the group managed to squeeze insurance companies out of $31.7 million.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said the trio went to homeless shelters and conspired with lawyers to effectively carry out the scam.

“They recruited indigent people, including from homeless shelters – people they thought would be most willing to undergo unneeded surgeries for the minimal cut of the proceeds the defendants would share," he said. "Duncan, Locust, and Rainford were tripped up by the justice system and have met their downfall.”

mail-fraud

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