Tag Archives: Auto Insurance Fraud

by | November 1, 2017 · 2:52 pm

Panama City Woman Sinks SUV for Insurance Money

According to the Panama City News Herald, 65-year-old Debra Jenkins has been arrested and charged with insurance fraud after having her SUV driven into a lagoon and pretending that the vehicle was stolen. The police had reportedly found a stick inside the vehicle on the driver’s floorboard which appeared to be purposely placed there to hold the gas pedal after the car was removed from the water. Video evidence from Jenkins’ neighbor also showed her SUV leaving her home together with another SUV, then only the second SUV returning that night with two people inside.

Jenkins later admitted to deputies that she and a friend had devised the plan to get rid of the vehicle and claim insurance money.

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by | September 19, 2017 · 2:09 pm

Insurance Agent Allegedly Sold Fraudulent Insurance Policy

According to the Palm Beach Post, Fred Thomas Jr., 39, is facing charges of fraud and embezzlement between $300 and $2,000 after he allegedly sold a Palm Beach County woman fraudulent/fake car insurance during a three-year period. Thomas was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol on Interstate 95 for driving with a suspended license when the trooper found an active warrant for Thomas in the insurance fraud case.

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by | August 25, 2017 · 9:44 am

Florida Insurance Rates Rise Thanks to Windshield-Replacement Schemes

According to Insurance Business America, your auto insurance premiums are going up, all because of ongoing windshield-replacement schemes.  As reported by Ryan Smith of Insurance Business America, these windshield schemes involve drivers with cracked windshields signing over insurance benefits to windshield repair and replacement shops.  These shops, through an “assignment of benefits”, will then submit an inflated invoice for the work allegedly rendered.

The Tampa Bay area has become the hub of the fraud and abuse involving these schemes.  More often then not, the fraudulent schemes are no fault of the insureds.   Florida law states that a deductible cannot be applied to windshield replacement and repair services.  This allows these shops to advertise that the work being done is “free” to the insureds.  The result of these “free” services has led to over 1900 windshield-claim lawsuits in Florida in 2016 alone; increasing litigation costs and ultimately hitting everyone’s pocket.

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by | July 11, 2017 · 10:48 am

Casselberry Residents Being Targeted by Windshield Replacement Scammers

Casselberry, Florida residents are victims of windshield replacement scammers. As reported by News 6, a Casselberry resident recently told police that two men came to her door claiming to work for the state government, insisting that a new law had been enacted that requires Floridians to replace their windshields every six months. As a result, the residents become victims, often times being exposed to an increased risk of a cheap windshield popping out and breaking during an accident. In turn, the scammers will contact the victim’s auto insurer and submit an inflated invoice for a service that was not necessary or properly done; potentially resulting in an increase in the victim’s auto insurance premium.

An increased premium is not the only risk insureds face with these scams, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, insureds could face possible fines and, even worse, jail time. Making a repair claim for a windshield you know is undamaged could get you convicted of insurance fraud.

Red flags should go up if someone shows up at your door or chases you down in a parking lot offering to fix your windshield for free. If you believe your windshield has sustained damage and needs to be repaired or replaced, call your insurance company for a list of rebuttable windshield repair/replacement companies.

For more information regarding the windshield repair scams and what you can do to fight back, visit http://www.insurancefraud.org/scam-alerts-windshield.htm.

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by | May 16, 2017 · 9:00 am

UPDATE: Naples Man in Florida Crash Ring Sentenced to 3 Years in Jail

On May 2, 2017, the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud reported that Wisler Cyrius of Naples was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.

Cyrius and five other individuals conspired to solicit people to participate in staged motor vehicle accidents in exchange for compensation. According to the Justice Department, Cyrius was also ordered by the court to pay restitution to automobile insurance companies and to forfeit property in the amount of the proceeds traceable to the offense.

Click here to view the full article. (Previous post)

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by | April 21, 2017 · 10:56 am

Geico Sues Florida Health Clinic for ‘Unnecessary’ Massage Claims

As reported by Law360, Geico sued Medical Wellness Services Inc. of Miami, FL for allegedly making $1.2 million in claims for providing medically unnecessary treatments for automobile accident victims who were eligible for coverage under their no-fault insurance policies. According to Geico, some of the claims were for services that were not actually provided and contained billing codes that misrepresented and exaggerated the services.

“The defendants do not now have — and never had — any right to be compensated for the fraudulent services that were billed to Geico through Medical Wellness,” Geico said. Geico claims Medical Wellness Services Inc. submitted claims for massage therapist services which are not reimbursable because Florida law prohibits no-fault insurance reimbursement for massages or other similar services.

According to the suit, the scheme began no later than 2013 and continues to this day. In addition to the request for $1.2 million in damages, Geico is also requesting a declaration from the court saying it will not have to pay any pending fraudulent claims by the health clinic which totals more than $75,000.

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by | March 9, 2017 · 11:32 am

Trooper Fired and Arrested for Helping Friend Cover Up Crash

Florida Highway Patrol Trooper David Casillas was arrested on Tuesday, February 28th and charged with organized fraud, filing a false insurance claim and official misconduct after trying to help a friend cover up a traffic crash that occurred in June of 2015. FHP fired Casillas in January as a result of the investigation which lasted over a year.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Casillas had written a false report for a bogus insurance claim submitted by his friend, dentist Jesus Del Valle. The insurance claim was submitted as a result of damage the dentist had done to his vehicle when he sideswiped a landscaping crew and kept driving.

Del Valle’s crash left Yoel Montero, a gardener with Lewis Tree Service, with a traumatic head injury and severe injuries to his right leg. The false insurance claim alleges that the accident happened a week later than it actually happened and that he had crashed the SUV into a palm tree instead of a landscaping crew.

The key to breaking the case was the fact that Del Valle’s 2015 Land Rover needed a new passenger-side mirror which could only be ordered from Range Rover manufacturers. Only one such had been sold in that time period and it was to Del Valle’s mechanic (and friend) Ariel Perera who performed the repair on his vehicle. Perera also allegedly submitted inflated invoices to Del Valle’s insurance company as well as charged the company for replacement parts that were never actually replaced. He is also facing charges with Del Valle and Casilla.

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by | October 12, 2016 · 11:11 am

Sixth Person Found Guilty in Unlicensed Chiropractic Clinics Scam

According to Southwest Florida Online News, a federal jury found Nesly Loute guilty of fraud after a six day trial where he and five others testified that they had conspired to operate five unlicensed chiropractic clinics and fraudulently billing auto insurers for Personal Injury Protection benefits. This ruling was the culmination of a two-year law enforcement investigation dubbed Operation Fraudulent Pain.

Loute and five other individuals who have also pleaded guilty are facing a maximum penalty of 20 years each in federal prison and must make restitution to the insurance companies they have defrauded. The unlicensed chiropractic clinics had received more that $2 million in fraudulent PIP payments.

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by | August 18, 2016 · 2:25 pm

Miami Police Arrest Twelve for Medical Fraud Schemes

On August 8, 2016, police arrested a dozen people in Miami-Dade County for their involvement in medical fraud schemes. Three of those arrested were employees of Brothers Medical Clinic on West Flagler St; which included a doctor, therapist and a woman who worked at the front desk.

According to detectives, the investigation began in September when an undercover officer walked into the clinic claiming he was involved in a car accident and needed therapy. The officer only visited that clinic once, but his insurance was billed thousands of dollars for services that were never provided.

“There wasn’t any type of treatment whatsoever,” an undercover detective with the National Insurance Crime Bureau said. “They were just billing the insurance companies for services not rendered, and this is something that goes on time and time again.”

The other nine arrests took place at a clinic in West Kendall.

“South Florida has become the capital of the country for medical fraud, and these types of clinics are an epidemic in the country,” said Miami Police Officer Rene Pimentel.

These fraudulent schemes are affecting insurance rates across the United States and are costing insureds hundreds of millions of dollars, where the sole beneficiaries are the clinics and doctors who facilitate these schemes.

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by | October 8, 2015 · 3:44 pm

Five Naples Residents Charged with Insurance Fraud

Five residents from Naples have been charged with auto insurance fraud, according to an article published by News-Press.com. The five individuals were involved in the operation of chiropractic clinics that defrauded several automobile insurance companies from June 2013 to February 2015.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida the following individuals were charged with insurance fraud and each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years:

Garry Joseph, 36, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Nesly Loute, 51, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Wisler Cyrius, 34, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Anouce Toussaint, 32, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Sijames Melus, 32, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

According to the article, Joseph and Melus paid licensed healthcare practitioners to allow their names to be used in official documents and submitted claims of services to accident victims treated at the clinics. The clinics involved with Joseph and Melus are Parkway Medical and Rehab LLC and Collier Chiropractic Center. In addition, Cyrius, Loute, and Toussaint are charged with filling fraudulent claims at Tamiami Pain and Rehab LLC and First Choice Pain and Rehab Inc. According to the article, Cyrius, Loute, and Toussaint attempted to recruit other participants in staged car accidents in exchange for money.

Click here to read the article.

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