False Claim Fraud—Florida

Amount: Unknown

A couple in Florida has admitted to shooting themselves as part of an elaborate but artificial story about a home invasion. The scheme was all part of a plan to get thousands of dollars in insurance payouts from the company who manages the home they rented. The Volusia County Sheriff said that his agency spent many man hours and thousands and thousands of dollars searching for two suspects the couple said smashed through a sliding glass door and shot the couple inside the home. The couple claimed they were in the shower at the time of the break-in, but the shower, bath mat, and the rest of the bathroom were all dry. Nearby surveillance videos also failed to corroborate the couple's claim. Later, they admitted to making the story up in an attempt to gain the insurance payout from their landlord's insurance company. Not only did the couple make up the home invasion story, but they each shot themselves to make their story more believable. The male had a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his leg, and the female had a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her arm. The couple claimed that the thieves stole a lock box containing jewelry and over $7,000. This claim was refuted by the families of the fraudsters who stated the couple was broke, and their bills were being paid by another family member.

Other people in the neighborhood were relieved to find out that the story was not true.

In another suspicious move, soon after the fabricated break-in, the couple retained a lawyer in order to sue their landlord for failing to fix a lock on the door that supposedly allowed the two intruders to gain entry to the house.

The couple faces charges of providing false information to law enforcement officers and will soon face a judge.