FL Crackdown on Staged Accidents Continues

Once again Florida is cracking down when it comes to fraudsters staging car accidents to file bogus PIP claims. Florida has been recently rated as the top state in the country for staged accidents and Florida authorities don’t like it.

According to The Miami Herald, five Miami-Dade residents and a Naples woman were arrested and charged with staging car accidents, recruiting people to stage car accidents and filing false claims using driver’s personal injury protection policies (PIP).

“Personal injury protection insurance, which all Florida drivers must buy, pays for up to $10,000 worth of medical care and lost wages following a car accident, regardless of who is at fault for the crash.”

Among those arrested were Ricardo Uranga Guemes, 32 and Yamilka Turino, 30, for recruiting people to stage an accident earlier this year; 24-year-old massage therapist, Serenity R. Toler who was connected to a Naples clinic that was busted for filing bogus claims earlier last week during “Operation Back Breaker”; 49-year-old Marlene Linda Mendez for her role in a 2009 staged accident; and Santos Colero, 40,  and Odalys Sardinas, 42 who both participated in a staged hit and run in August of last year.  25-year-old Michael Perez is also being sought for his involvement in the “phantom” hit and run accident, but he still remains at large.

According to the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud, the six arrested collectively billed $170,000 in fraudulent medical bills and they will all be joining the 400 others who have been charged with PIP fraud over the past two years.  If convicted, they face imprisonment on charges such as grand theft, filing false insurance claims, staging fake accidents and patient brokering.

Fraud related PIP claims are costing drivers approximately $400 per year and with Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Hialeah on the list of top 10 in the nation for PIP fraud, Florida’s CFO, Jeff Atwater wants fraudsters to know they aren’t welcome here:

‘“PIP fraud perpetrators may find the crime easy to commit, but I am putting the word out that they will do hard time if convicted,” CFO Jeff Atwater said in a statement.”

 For a full list detailing the arrests made this week, visit here.