NYC Sues Personal Injury Law Firm Under Federal RICO Statute for Bogus Claims

New York City's law department filed a federal lawsuit on October 19, 2026 against Asher & Associates, a Lower Manhattan personal injury firm that has operated for over 40 years, accusing it of filing at least 15 fraudulent slip-and-fall claims against the city over the past decade. Prosecutors allege the firm's clients were not injured by defective sidewalks or potholes as stated in the lawsuits, but by entirely unrelated incidents including fights, lead pipe attacks and car collisions. The city is invoking the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — a federal statute normally reserved for organised crime — marking the first time New York City has used RICO against a personal injury law firm. In one case, a Queens man claimed he tripped on an uneven metal plate in Bed-Stuy on Thanksgiving Day; medical records allegedly showed his injuries came from a fight. The city spent over $2 billion on personal injury settlements and judgments in the most recent fiscal year. The firm denied wrongdoing, with attorney Matthew Laroche calling the lawsuit 'a clear attempt to chill' legitimate litigation by 'recasting ordinary, contested personal injury litigation as racketeering.'