Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis has announced the arrest of four individuals involved in a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) fraud case in Miami. This group allegedly aimed to defraud several auto insurance companies by exploiting PIP benefits for financial gain. The scheme involved submitting fraudulent claims for physical therapy sessions that were never attended, following a vehicle accident with no reported injuries.
The arrests were made after an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division’s Miami Field Office, which uncovered that fraudulent claims totaling over $37,000 had been submitted, with one insurance company alone paying out approximately $10,000. The four individuals were booked on charges of Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft and face up to ten years in prison if convicted. This case underscores CFO Patronis’s commitment to combating insurance fraud in Florida, a significant factor in the rise of auto insurance premiums across the state.