View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/southeast/2014/10/31/257099.htm
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrests of attorneys, chiropractors and clinic employees officials say were involved in an organized personal injury protection (PIP) fraud scheme.
Atwater said the five arrests were made in Martin, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, following a year-long undercover investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud.
Additional warrants for arrest have been issued for two people.
During the investigation, multiple undercover detectives were embedded into clinics that were accepting patients who were illegally solicited, according to officials. The officials allege that one clinic in particular was billing for services that were never rendered and on several occasions, patients were also found being coached to claim they were injured when they were not.
As the investigation progressed, an undercover detective became a patient broker for the ring. Officials said the targets indicated they would compensate the undercover detective for referring patients under the guise of marketing. During the meeting in which the brokering agreement was discussed, the principal targets all agreed to pay the undercover detective for bringing patients to specific clinics, according to the investigators.
Several times during meetings, officials allege, the principal targets mentioned that it was illegal to directly pay for patients and that is why they disguise it as marketing.
According to the CFO, the individuals arrested include: Roger Hughes Bell (chiropractor), Hobe Sound; Brian Greenspoon (attorney), Boca Raton; Alejandro Marin, Homestead; Cory Meltzer (attorney), Boca Raton and Douglas Santiago, Boynton Beach.
The CFO said that individuals with warrants out for their arrest include: Christina Savoye of Stuart and Ryan Grand (chiropractor), Lake Worth.
Source: Florida CFO