Bernita Willette Carswell of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to one count of disaster assistance fraud. Carswell claimed her primary residence was damaged during Hurricane Irma, causing her to stay in a nearby rental property. The Federal Emergency Management Agency paid Carswell $15,024.80 in rental assistance, although she never actually left her home. She faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as paying restitution.
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Filed under Fraud, Property (Homeowners)
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has created a new page on its website called the “NICB COVID-19 Resource Center.” The page provides the latest information on emerging fraud schemes due to an influx of insurance fraud cases tied to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) recently sent out a statement regarding a surge of fake coronavirus health coverage schemes. It warned that robocalls, text messages, and email phishing attacks could fake insurance deals to consumers, asking them to pay for health or travel insurance premiums without delivering coverage.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
A Boca Raton osteopathic physician Dr. Max Citrin has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly copying and pasting false symptoms for his patients. Citrin was charged with three felonies for submitting fraudulent claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and Humana, totaling nearly 1 million dollars.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
Dr. Rodolfo Gonzalez Garcia was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiring to dispense oxycodone, a charge to which he had previously pled guilty. Dr. Gonzalez Garcia and his co-defendants, including his wife Arlene Gonzalez, admitted to using a Hialeah medical office to provide prescriptions for the controlled substance, even though he did not conduct meaningful examinations to prescribe oxycodone appropriately. Dr. Gonzalez Garcia referred to himself as “El Chapo of Oxycodone.”
Co-defendants Arlene Gonzalez and Annie Suarez-Gonzalez pled guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks. They were sentenced to 4 months in prison and one year of probation each. Co-defendant Fidel Marrero-Castellanos pled guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison. The co-defendants were ordered to pay a total of $26,306 in restitution.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
Bernita Willette Carswell of Jacksonville and Deannajo White of Suwannee County have been charged lying about damage from Hurricane Irma to receive disaster assistance in separate cases. Both women are accused of falsifying records when applying to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for aid. The women could serve up to 30 years each in federal prison.
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Filed under Fraud, Hurricanes
Lynn Haven’s former City Manager Michael White and former community services director David Horton were arrested and charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money. Erosion Control Specialists owner David White and employee Shannon Rodriguez, and Greenleaf Lawn Care owner Joshua Anderson were arrested as well.
According to U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe, the former Lynn Haven officials approved false invoices from Erosion Control and Greenleaf for work they performed, including wrapping presents, preparing a site for a Halloween party, and cleaning the private homes of several city officials. The officials approved payments to the companies and then sought reimbursement from FEMA. The 35-count indictment includes charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, theft and honest services fraud.
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Filed under Fraud, Hurricanes
A Davie lawyer, Stuart Finkelstein, was arrested on Tuesday for collecting nearly $1M by filing over 300 unauthorized lawsuits on behalf of disabled Americans in New York and Florida. Finkelstein allegedly stole the identities of two individuals and filed lawsuits claiming they were unable to access public establishments that they had never tried to go in. Neither of the people had ever hired Finklestein as an attorney to represent them.
Finkelstein made false representations to small businesses, obstructed official judicial proceedings, and then settled the fake lawsuits to collect about $930,000 in attorney fees. Micheline Gaulin, a restaurant owner in Manhattan’s West Village, told the NY Post that she paid over $18,000 in a settlement to Finklestein in which she called “a legal shakedown.”
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Filed under Fraud
Ozioma Maduka of Osceola Injury Center, LLC was arrested for allegedly practicing healthcare without an active, valid Florida medical doctor’s license as well as fraudulently billing unlicensed medical treatments. Maduka billed two insurance companies for more than $4,400 in claims for unlicensed treatment of auto accident victims.
Maduka could face up to 5 years in prison if convicted.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
According to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services, Dr. Celestino Santi was arrested for allegedly defrauding nine auto insurance companies our of more than $500,000 in unlicensed medical billing.
Investigators reveal that Santi was allegedly acting as a “straw owner” of Accident Care Center of Boggy Creek to disguise the identity of the unlicensed, true owner of the motor vehicle accident medical treatment center.
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Filed under Fraud, Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Jacksonville roofer Roger Van Den Bosch has been officially charged with grand theft in Clay County, just months after pleading guilty to insurance fraud, forgery and theft. In May, the Kinnecorps owner was convicted in Duval County and ordered to pay more than $50,000 in restitution, serve probation and do community service.
Prosecutors are now focusing on a Van Den Bosch’s felony grand theft charge, which he plead not guilty to in a case involving a Clay County homeowner.
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Filed under Fraud, Property (Homeowners)
