Exposing Fraud: How Deception Came to Light
September 15, 2025
By day, the sidewalk looks ordinary; but by night, it becomes the stage for a fraudulent performance.
When a new case came across our desk alleging a trip and fall, everything about it seemed normal, until it wasn’t.
Plaintiff claimed boilerplate allegations of negligence against our client, a business owner, for creating and having notice of a defect in the sidewalk in front of their business. Annexed to their discovery responses were photographs purporting to prove it.
A few things caught our attention after looking at the photographs. All of the surrounding businesses were closed, the streetlights were on, and there were no pedestrians in sight. Rarely, do we ever get a trip and fall case that occurs overnight on a public sidewalk or photographs of a condition that were taken overnight.
Another red flag: plaintiff’s counsel was not sharing the metadata information nor providing the photos in JPEG form to show when these photos were taken.
The red flags prompted us to speak with neighboring residents and business owners in the area, at which time we connected with a neighbor who lived directly across the street from our client’s business.
It was about 5 am on a weekday in the Summer of 2023. While getting ready for work, the neighbor stopped in his tracks after glancing out his apartment window. He watched as two masked individuals were huddled around the sidewalk in front of our client’s business. They were using a motorcycle to shield their activity on the sidewalk and then take photographs of the sidewalk from various angles. He left briefly to get his phone to take photos, but they were gone by the time he returned.
He immediately walked downstairs and for the first time, noticed a hole in the sidewalk. He then notified our client as to what he saw. That same day, our client immediately repaired the sidewalk to avoid any incidents. We were provided both the metadata and photos from our client to prove that the sidewalk was repaired before plaintiff’s alleged incident.
We gained the witness’ cooperation, and he testified to what he observed. We proceeded to hammer plaintiff’s counsel about the failure to provide the metadata for the photographs through aggressive motion practice. Several motions ensued, including to amend our Answer to include affirmative defenses asserting fraud, and to have subpoenas so-ordered for the non-party depositions of ambulance personnel who could attest to the condition of the sidewalk when plaintiff was removed from the scene.
As our office pressed forward, the plaintiff’s attorney moved to be relieved as counsel.
The key takeaway is that while detecting fraud can be challenging, there may be some “cracks” in the cover-up. All it takes is a closer look.
About Cullen and Dykman’s General Liability, Tort and Insurance Defense Department
Our litigation attorneys represent individuals and corporations in general liability, tort and insurance defense matters ranging from personal injury and insurance coverage disputes to large-scale commercial litigation. Clients frequently engage our litigators to act as trial counsel in high-exposure cases, and we have extensive experience in appellate litigation involving liability and insurance matters.
About Cullen and Dykman
Cullen and Dykman (www.cullenllp.com) has been providing legal services to institutional clients since 1850. The firm represents a wide range of clients, including banks and other financial institutions, energy, telecommunications and water companies, construction companies, insurers, educational institutions, religious organizations, and not-for-profits. With over 190 attorneys in seven offices located throughout the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions, Cullen and Dykman is strategically positioned to meet the changing needs and demands of our clients.