Fraud, Kickbacks, and Fake Bills: Lawsuit Puts Los Angeles Shady Injury Attorneys Under Fire

Uber’s recent federal fraud lawsuit has thrown a harsh spotlight on unscrupulous personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles and their networks of medical providers accused of orchestrating fraudulent claims, unnecessary treatments, and massively inflated medical bills. According to the landmark federal lawsuit filed in July 2025, this is all designed to chase lucrative settlements and profit from California’s rideshare insurance system.

According to the complaint, certain Los Angeles attorneys — most notably at Downtown LA Law Group and the Law Offices of Jacob Emrani — directed clients injured in minor accidents to select medical providers. These providers, in turn, allegedly performed unnecessary procedures and surgeries, then submitted bills up to 10 times higher than industry norms. Secret side agreements between lawyers and providers would lower the bills if a settlement lagged, but only after the inflated amounts were used as leverage against Uber’s state-mandated $1 million insurance policies.

The result? Higher costs for Uber, its drivers, and every rider in Los Angeles. And, experts warn, these inflated payouts can create a ripple effect across the state, pushing insurance costs higher for all drivers, including those here in Kern County. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, staged or exaggerated injury claims cost the U.S. insurance industry an estimated $30 billion each year, much of which is passed on to consumers through higher premiums.

“Fraud and legal abuse raise costs for everyone,” said Adam Blinick, Uber’s head of policy and communications, in a statement. “As this lawsuit shows, we won’t hesitate to act when we uncover misconduct on our platform.”

For years the Law Office of Chain | Cohn | Clark has been calling out these Los Angeles-based attorneys and law firms for their unscrupulous advertising tactics and practices, which include:

• Advertising as local lawyers with local phone numbers and addresses, when they are actually based in Los Angeles, have no attorneys available locally, and rent space in virtual offices just to use a local address. Additionally, the attorneys you see on billboards and advertisements likely won’t be the attorneys working on cases.
• Charging clients up to 50% contingency fee, when the industry standard is 33%.
• Taking out high-interest loans to finance your case, and then passing the cost on to clients.

This latest Uber lawsuit validates what Chain | Cohn | Clark representatives have long told our Kern County neighbors: if you don’t know your lawyer’s name, hometown, and track record, you might be hiring someone whose only connection to your community is a rented address.

“The repercussions of bad actors in the legal community go far beyond rideshare companies,” said Matt Clark, managing partner and attorney at Chain | Cohn | Clark. “Fraudulent claims drive up insurance premiums for everyone and erode public trust in the civil justice system. These fraudulent claims make it more difficult for quality law offices to get justice for our clients.”

Added Clark: “While Uber’s case exposes the dangers of dishonesty and greed in personal injury law in Los Angeles, Chain | Cohn | Clark stands out for its unwavering commitment to ethics, excellence, and client advocacy. Founded in 1934, our law firm has earned a reputation for putting clients first, striving for justice, and upholding the highest moral standards. Ethical standards aren’t just guidelines, they’re the foundation of every case, every negotiation, every courtroom win. Our clients know they’re getting honest counsel and a relentless fight for real justice.”

===

TOOL KIT: HOW TO IDENTIFY A LOCAL LAWYER

You may be asking, how do I know even know if a lawyer is local to Kern County, especially if they advertise themselves as being local, and have a listed phone number and address that is in Kern County? Wonder no more: Here is tool kit you can use to identify out-of-town law firms that may advertise themselves as having local offices, as well as attorneys who advertise in Kern County but do not live here:

1. Visit their website: Is there anything on the site that points to them being locally based? Or is the website general in nature? If there are no indicators that point to Bakersfield or Kern County, they are likely out-of-town attorneys just looking to get business anywhere they can.
2. Review attorney’s biographies: While on the website, check out the attorney biography pages. Do they support or are involved in local causes? Or did they attend local schools?
3. Confirm their address: Non-local lawyers often list more than one address in cities throughout the state or country. This is a prime indicator that they are not local, but rather looking to get business in a wider area. Do a maps search on the address to make sure it’s real. And if certain addresses pop up on your map, beware. Many out-of-town attorneys often rent out “virtual offices” to fool search engines and online maps (and potential clients) into thinking they actually work out of those offices, when they actually are never there.
4. Call their listed “local” phone number: If you call their supposed local phone number and it’s routed to a call service, that law firm likely is not local, and instead they purchased a local phone number to appear local. You can also ask the receptionist or person who answers the call if he or she is local, or if the attorneys are local. And if their phone number starts with 800 or 866, they are likely not local lawyers.
5. Ask to meet with an attorney: If an attorney takes your case or you are scheduled for a consultation, you should ask to speak with an actual attorney to review your case. Any hesitancy or outright refusal to meet in person is a big red flag.

———

If you or someone you know is injured in an accident at the fault of someone else, or injured on the job no matter whose fault it is, contact the car accident attorneys at Chain | Cohn | Clark by calling (661) 323-4000, or fill out a free consultation form, text, or chat with us at chainlaw.com.