9 Arrests Made in Florida PIP Fraud Ring

Nine suspects were arrested for personal injury protection (PIP) fraud in Miami, Fla., according to an announcement by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Charged in eight separate cases involving seven staged accidents, these individuals were arrested and charged for their involvement in the filing of more than $242,000 in fraudulent billings submitted to 11 insurance carries.

“While their injuries may have been fake, PIP fraud is real and it is not a victimless crime,” said CFO Atwater. “When insurance carriers absorb such high-dollar losses to fraud, we all pay in the form of higher insurance premiums. I’m thankful to our dedicated investigative team for shutting down this fraud ring.”

Most PIP fraud rings involve several components that are each monetarily driven – the organizer, who recruits and arranges for individuals to stage, or intentionally cause, motor vehicle accidents; the patient broker, who convinces the participants to seek post-accident medical treatments for non-existent injuries; and sometimes licensed medical providers, who agree to sign off on falsified medical treatment documents in exchange for payments billed under the participants’ personal injury protection benefits as part of their automobile insurance policies. The Division of Insurance Fraud arrested these nine individuals for acting in one or more of these capacities.

Participants in these staged accidents were referred to at least 13 different South Florida medical clinics. This case remains ongoing and additional arrests are expected.

Source: Florida Department of Financial Services