A former clinic owner convicted of orchestrating a large-scale PIP fraud scheme could very well spend the rest of his days in a Florida prison.
Having been found guilty of multiple offenses, from insurance fraud to participating in staged accidents, David Rodriguez must now sit and wait for sentencing next month. The 46-year-old once owned General Rehabilitation Center and Crystal Rehabilitation Center in Tampa, Florida. From outward appearances, business was booming. Clinic billings swelled, but so too did questions about a trail of suspicious claims.
When the Florida Department of Financial Services' Division of Insurance Fraud took a closer look, it discovered that the clinic was billing for treatments never rendered. Still more claims involved equipment that the facility did not actually possess. Investigators were soon able to identify Lopez as the lead in securing a straw owner, controlling bank accounts, and directing fraudulent clinic operations.
Since March 2012, there were 26 accidents with a connection to Lopez. These crashes involved more than 60 individuals, all of whom claim to have been treated at his clinic. In fact, Lopez ultimately received an excess of $240,000 after filing claims to treat their purported injuries. To date, police have made 60 arrests in the case for schemes perpetrated in both Tampa and Jacksonville. That number is expected to rise, given the number of players posing as accident victims, recruiters and office personnel.
“This is a great win in the fight against PIP fraud in Florida,” said Jeff Atwater, Florida's CFO, in a press release. “I applaud our fraud investigators in Jacksonville and our dedicated prosecutor at the state attorney's office, because it takes a well-coordinated effort from the fraud prevention community to bring a fraud ring leader to justice.”
Assistant State Attorney Joe Licandro of the Fourth Judicial Circuit prosecuted the charges against Lopez, who was found guilty of schemes to defraud, insurance fraud and participation in a staged accident. Sentencing is scheduled for November 2013.
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