Andrew H. Gaber, 52, shot himself because police were coming to arrest him Wednesday after a two-year grand-jury investigation exposed his allegedly massive insurance fraud.
Over seven years, Gaber allegedly recruited helpers to scope out the perfect places with pavement defects to fake their falls, focusing on areas with well-insured properties and no surveillance cameras. Gaber's 46 accomplices, either arrested already or being sought by police, allegedly played the roles of both slip-and-fall victim and accident witness.
All benefited from the settlement of 24 out of 43 false insurance claims, raking in a total of $382,000, according to the Daily News. For each case, police say, Gaber's cut was at least 40%, helpers received $100 to $500, and "clients" who faked their falls received money from the insurance company settlements.
Many of those who allegedly helped Gaber cheat 21 insurance companies are believed to be homeless and drug abusers. Investigators say the homeowners of a single residential block helped crack the case, holding community meetings after they noticed a suspicious pattern of slip-and-fall incidents outside their well-insured homes.