FLORIDA
The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud has released a list of arrests, convictions and ongoing investigations showing that 32 people have been arrested, eight convicted and 84 are being actively investigated. According to Nina Bannister, DOI spokeswoman, the department received 632 tips reporting alleged fraud occurring during the 2004 hurricane season.
Bannister said she expects to receive more tips to investigate as insurance companies review last year’s hurricane claims.
Most of the investigations to date, 71 percent, resulted from tips from private citizens. The other 29 percent were reported by insurance companies, which have five years to report suspected fraud to the state.
In December, Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CFO, announced new rules with stricter requirements for insurance companies to report fraud. He’s pushing for legislation to fine insurers up to $50,000 for failing to report fraud in a timely manner.
Okeechobee Contractor Alleged to Have Filed Fake Workers’ Comp Claims
Okeechobee building contractor Merle Dee Johnson bonded out of the Okeechobee County Jail on $30,000 bond, after Florida investigators charged him with workers’ compensation fraud and grand theft.
Johnston was arrested after he allegedly misused loan money and failed to complete construction on an Okeechobee home. The complaint against Johnston also claims the general contractor failed to carry proper workers’ compensation coverage.
According to Florida CFO Tom Gallagher, Johnston was initially paid $60,000 from a couple’s construction loan. The money was to begin work on their new home in Okeechobee County. A Department of Financial Services release alleges Johnston reportedly took $23,000 for his personal
use.
Six months after Johnston was paid to start the project, detectives said only the foundation, blocks and trusses were installed. Johnston never returned to complete the work and the structure collapsed.
Detectives working the case also learned that Johnston had not paid several outstanding bills. It was also determined that he had underreported his income and ultimately was working without proper workers’ compensation coverage.
Johnston allegedly billed the couple for approximately $19,000 in labor and supervision cost, while reporting only $2,300 in labor costs. Fraud detectives learned that Johnston reported only $2,300 in payroll for the entire year, although he was working other jobs.
Eight Arrested Staging Miami Auto Crash
Eight members of an alleged staged-crash-ring, accused of filing more than $100,000 in fraudulent insurance claims in a staged accident have been arrested in Miami.
Brothers and suspected ringleaders Jimmy Desir, 27, and Nildo Desir, 29, planned and recruited the participants, according to detectives with the Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. All eight are charged with 13 counts each of insurance fraud and grand theft, and one is facing a minimum sentence of two years in prison for a prior staged-accident. Three clinics, including a chiropractor who was previously arrested for insurance fraud and grand theft, were also involved.
The suspects, face charges from
a two-car staged-crash in Miami-Dade County April 23, 2003, prior to a Oct. 1, 2003 law that mandates a minimum two-year prison sentence for organizing or participating in a staged accident.
Insurance fraud detectives said the Desir brothers organized the “crash” but did not participate in it, and the six who did, ranging in age from 19 to 31, fanned out to three medical clinics.
National Security Insurance Co. and the Florida Automobile Joint Underwriters Association jointly paid more than $49,000 for the claims including PIP, bodily injury and property damage.