“Operation Back Breaker” Collars 11

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office announced that 11 individuals have been arrested for their connection to local chiropractic offices that allegedly paid people to stage car accidents.

According to The News Press, a year-long investigation dubbed “Operation Back Breaker” led to the arrests of 11 individuals and warrants for three others who were found to be connected to four Collier County chiropractic clinics that were allegedly paying people to stage accidents and file fraudulent claims.   

“Investigators uncovered $35,000 in fraudulent insurance claims and believe they exceed $1 million a year in the county.”

The four Collier County, Flordia clinics involved in the scheme include: Royal Therapy Center, Medical Cuban Americans, Gulf Coast Therapy and Rehabilitation and HealthPark Chiropractic. Mug shots of those arrested can be viewed here.

State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Infinity and AIG Insurance assisted the sheriff’s department in the investigation as did The National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Florida Department of Health.

“‘Collier County should be commended for doing such an aggressive job investigating this and getting this scheme shut down,’ said Chris Neal, public affairs assistant manager for State Farm in Florida. ‘Investigations like this help everyone by keeping the cost of insurance lower.’”

Collier County Sheriff, Kevin Rambosk, urged locals to be cautious of staged accidents. Rambosk explained that the scheme typically involves two participating parties, but it is also common for perpetrators to crash into innocent and unaware drivers which can lead to serious injuries.

In the end everyone pays for staged accident schemes such as the ones uncovered in “Operation Back Breaker.”  With the payment of fraudulent claims comes higher premiums for consumers and Florida received the number one ranking this year by the NCIB for staged car accidents while Tampa earned the title of “the number two worst city for staged accidents.”  The Collier County Sherrif’s Office is finding that staged accidents are becoming more common in smaller cities because of the recent crackdowns in larger cities such as Tampa and Miami and the Collier County authorities let these perps know that they aren’t welcome in SW Florida either. Chalk another one up for the good guys!