The story is all too familiar, especially in Florida, a state riddled with abuse of its personal injury protection (PIP) system: Recruit volunteers to help orchestrate auto accidents. Direct the “victims” to a preferred clinic to treat their purported “injuries.” Bill insurers for services either never rendered or grossly inflated. Then collect proceeds to be divvied amongst participants.

That's the recipe David Rodriguez Lopez, the owner of a now-defunct massage therapy clinic in Jacksonville, followed until time—and the law—caught up with him. Of course, the 46-year-old didn't bank on the next steps: arrest, conviction and sentencing. But that's exactly what happened after a Florida court convicted Lopez of schemes to defraud more than $50,000, filing false insurance claims exceeding $100,000, and knowingly participating in an intentional motor vehicle crash.

Lopez worked as the behind-the-scenes owner of Indian Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (IRCI), a licensed massage therapy clinic located in Jacksonville. The clinic was in operation from March 2012 until October 2012, when the state attorney's office and Florida's Division of Insurance Fraud shut down it down. By then, IRCI had billed insurers for $228,000.