A man from the Miami-Dade area was convicted and another was arrested this week in connection with PIP fraud perpetrated on insurance companies in South Florida resulting from fake automobile accidents. Alex Sink, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, said this was the fourth and final arrest made by the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud’s (DIF) investigation into an insurance fraud ring based in South Florida.
The 57 year-old man convicted of insurance fraud who it was thought was the ringleader will serve 54 months in prison and will pay restitution in the amount of $329,366 to several insurance companies. DIF estimated that the gang of ciminals with as many as 24 members may have created up to 80 fake crashes.
“Insurance fraud costs us all more, and we will aggressively investigate anyone suspected of defrauding others,” CFO Sink said. “I commend our investigators for their work on this case and encourage their continued pursuit of criminals who take advantage of others by committing insurance fraud.”
If you suspect someone has staged an accident for the sole purpose of submitting a fraudulent claim, you are encouraged to contact the Division of Insurance Fraud at 1-800-378-0445 or on the web at www.MyFloridaCFO.com/fraud. They are serious about catching and convicting these criminals and will reward you up to $25,000 for information that leads to a conviction.
