Five people have been arrested for their involvement in a staged accident scheme in Orlando. Lufaite Olizia, 40, and Tracey McFarlane, 40, were charged with insurance fraud, patient brokering and intentionally staging a motor vehicle crash. Pierre Antoine Joseph, 41, Madeline Emile, 28, and Yolando Denise Roberts, 39, were also arrested for participating in the staged accident as passengers and subsequently filing fraudulent medical claims.
An investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services' Division of Insurance Fraud revealed that Olizia and McFarlane solicited participants to intentionally stage a motor vehicle accident, which occurred in Orlando on July 10, 2010. Prior to the staged accident, Olizia and McFarlane met up at a convenience store where they planned the crash. During the meeting Olizia promised to pay Joseph, Emile, and Roberts $1,000 each to file fraudulent medical claims with clinics of his choosing.
The passengers were advised to seek treatment for their alleged injuries at Silver Hills Health & Rehab and Injury Care Inc. in Orlando. As a result of this one staged accident, fraudulent insurance claims were submitted to GEICO, Allstate, Progressive and State Farm Insurance Companies.
Additional arrests are expected. If convicted, the suspects face up to 12 years in prison.
In Miami, two suspects—Edersy Suarez, 38, and Marialejandra Beltran, 28—have been arrested for acting as public insurance adjusters without licenses and offenses against intellectual property by demanding payment for PIP claims on behalf of multiple accident clinics. Suarez and Beltran were booked into Miami-Dade County Jail and are awaiting bond. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison.
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