Crackdown on PIP Fraud Nets 15 Arrests in Miami

Fifteen Miamians have been arrested for their roles in using lunch delivery vehicles to stage more than a dozen accidents and filing more than $800,000 in fraudulent property damage and personal injury protection insurance (PIP) claims.

The arrests were announced Tuesday by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater following a two-year investigation.

The Legislature passed reforms earlier this month to Florida’s Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law in hopes of eliminating some of the runaway PIP fraud that has increased costs for the state’s drivers by over $1 billion in the past four years. Gov. Rick Scott had lobbied hard for the legislation.

Atwater’s office reported Tuesday that increased attention to PIP fraud resulted in the arrests of 392 individuals in 2011 and 166 so far in 2012.