More Staged Accidents Arrests in Florida

Three individuals in Fort Lauderdale were arrested for their involvement in a staged accident that resulted in fraudulent Personal Injury Protection (PIP) billings in excess of $80,000, according to an announcement by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.

He also announced the conviction of David Torres, a recruiter for Indian Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, on eight counts of participating in staged accidents.

An investigation by the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud discovered that a U-Haul truck that supposedly crashed into a parked Dodge Caravan with eight passengers was in fact a staged accident. The occupants of the caravan filed fraudulent claims in excess of $80,000 from multiple clinics in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Claudio Boyett, Leslie Sanchez Martinez and Claudia Hoy have all been charged with insurance fraud, and more arrests resulting from this incident are expected.

Torres helped arrange staged accidents and subsequently file fraudulent PIP claims for the participants through Indian Rehabilitation Center to their insurance providers. He has been ordered to pay more than $109,000 in restitution to eight victim insurance companies. He was also sentenced to five years in the Florida State Prison system. Since his arrest, he has been cooperating with law enforcement, which has led to additional arrests and convictions.

Since January 2011, the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud has made nearly 2,000 PIP fraud arrests. Insurance fraud convictions for the current fiscal year total 1,225, a 17 percent increase over the previous year.

Source: Florida Department of Financial Services