Fraud Roundup
California chiropractor and legal assistant plead no contest to fraud
An Encino, Calif., chiropractor Nasrin “Nancy” Hadizadeh Fathi, 43, and legal assistant Behrouz Beck Saffary, 51, have pled no contest and were found guilty of one count each of insurance fraud, the California Department of Insurance reported. Both defendants were placed on three years probation, ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay $9,416 restitution. They were also sentenced to one day in Los Angeles County Jail with credit for time served.
In February 2004, CDI’s Fraud Division received a citizen complaint that Fathi was over-billing insurance companies for chiropractic treatment she never performed. Based on the complaint, the Fraud Division initiated an undercover investigation into Valley Spine Institute, the clinic operated by Fathi. Undercover investigators visited the clinic posing as traffic collision victims seeking treatment. On their first visit, Saffary made the investigators sign forms to be represented by the law offices of Karineh Avanessian. The investigators were treated by Fathi on no more than three occasions each. On their last visit to the clinic, Fathi and Saffary made the undercover investigators “sign-in” on multiple sign-in sheets to give the impression of a longer-lasting and more extensive chiropractic treatment than was actually delivered.
The involved insurance companies later received chiropractic bills from Fathi and settlement demands from Saffary, representing the law offices of Karineh Avanessian. 21st Century Insurance Co. received medical bills of amount of $18,770 and Liberty Mutual, $13,310.
According to investigators, on June 9, 2005, Fathi and Saffary were arrested by CDI Fraud Division investigators, each on two counts of felony insurance fraud.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the special investigative units of Progressive, Farmers, 21st Century Insurance Co. and Liberty Mutual assisted in the investigation.
Calif. arrests 3 for allegedly staging Los Angeles freeway accidents
California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced the arrests of three suspects who were allegedly said to have participated in the staging of auto collisions on the 605 Freeway.
Three of the suspects – Liliana Mazariegos, 30, Exau Gonzalez Yanez, 22, and Alex Diaz, 41- were arrested on April 24, 2006, for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, intentionally staging a motor vehicle collision for the purpose of committing insurance fraud, and assault with a deadly weapon for their reckless and dangerous use of a vehicle, according to the California Department of Insurance (CDI).
CDI said that on April 24, Mazariegos, Yanez and Diaz staged a collision on the 605 freeway south of the Rosecrans Avenue off-ramp in Los Angeles. Their target was an unmarked newer vehicle which happened to be occupied by two detectives from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. The detectives provided a detailed statement of the events surrounding the collision to the California Highway Patrol who then notified investigators from the Los Angeles County Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force to come to the scene. The three suspects are each being held on $200,000 bail.
Visalia police help in fraud investigation
Donald Paul Hardwick, 43, of Fresno, Calif., has been charged with three felony counts of insurance fraud, theft of insurance funds and grand theft by embezzlement, according to the California Department of Insurance and the Visalia Police Department.
According to investigators, from August 2003 to April 2004, Hardwick operated a branch office of Perrine Insurance Agency in Visalia. Investigators allege that Hardwick collected premiums for homeowners, personal auto and commercial insurance, but failed to obtain the policies.
Kelly Perrine, owner of Perrine Insurance Agency, fired Hardwick and closed the Visalia office after being informed of the alleged fraud. CDI said there were about 40 victims with an estimated loss of more than $20,000.