Auto Fraud—Florida

Amount: Over $500,000

Several people were arrested in Miami-Dade County for participating in an elaborate insurance scam. Investigators discovered that ten claims, all for phantom crashes, were made on the same Lexis GS350, signed off by the same adjusters, and repaired by the same body shop—a shop that does not exist. The fake crash was reported in September 2016, and was one of dozens of fake claims that cost GEICO more than half a million dollars. The two adjusters who were arrested received cash kickbacks for helping to defraud their employer. After an investigation, the investigators determined that more than forty-five bogus claims were made, and some of the car owners did not know that their policies were being abused, while other insureds allowed their policies to be used or made phone calls to GEICO and impersonated crash victims. In the end, fourteen people were charged for this huge case of insurance fraud.