NEW YORK, NY - One of the money men behind the developer of the Ground Zero mosque was sued for allegedly ripping off an insurance company for nearly $1.8 million, according to court documents.

Hisham Elzanaty, who owns medical companies that operate out of a building in The Bronx, allegedly billed State Farm for unnecessary tests related to automobile accidents that would maximize the insurance payout, the papers say.

According to the documents, which were filed in 2007, the suspected scheme may have begun as early as 1998.

Elzanaty, who was reportedly a "significant investor" in mosque developer Sharif el-Gamal's $4.8 million purchase of the former Burlington Coat Factory building, was also ordered to repay $331,000 after an audit showed Medicaid had overpaid him.

To view this article, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/ripoff_mosque_m an_sued_QxcnLd6LsDVQLCPUOubG4I - click here .