22 Rounded Up in “Operation Crash for Cash”

The Hillsborough County Sheriff dubbed the eight month undercover investigation “Operation Crash for Cash” and took down a ring that cost insurance carriers an estimated 18 million dollars for the bogus claims. The operation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department resulted in 22 arrest warrants and search warrants for two Tampa area medical clinics allegedly involved in the scheme. The detectives began rounding up the suspects and searching the clinics early Thursday morning, April 22. The suspects include employees from West Waters Medical Center, Saint Isabel Medical Center and Superior Injury Care all located in Tampa as well as other suspects who allegedly participated in staging the accidents. The criminal charges range from Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO), a first-degree felony, to staging vehicles crashes.

According to the a press release by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department,

The Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the NICB began Operation Crash For Cash in September 2009 after deputies noticed a pattern of questionable vehicle crashes. Undercover detectives developed confidential informants and learned which medical clinics were being used in the fraud. Detectives were also able to identify the recruiters and coordinators who would solicit individuals to conduct staged crashes. Then the participants would be directed to a particular medical clinic to sign blank medical forms. At the clinics, crash participants would be coached on how to describe their injuries or pain to physicians.

One staged crash was captured on surveillance video by a camera at a business on 78th Street. Detectives obtained the video and learned how one version of a staged crash is conducted, where occupants exit the vehicle to be rammed, then re-enter the vehicle after the crash.

In other staged crashes, all occupants of the vehicles remain inside the vehicles. At no time during this undercover operation were there any legitimate injuries to any of the participants. In some instances the participants placed juveniles in the vehicles so additional claims of injury could be submitted.

These types of schemes are happening all too often and we all pay higher premiums when individuals concoct elaborate schemes to defraud carriers and drain valuable resources from the insurance pool. Unfortunately, a growing number of people believe that insurance resources are there for the taking and believe there is nothing wrong with orchestrating schemes such as this to get a pay out. Chalk one up for the fine people in uniform from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department. The entire press release as well as mug shots of the suspects can be found here.