Insurance Fraud News and Announcements
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On April 23rd, 2013, DIF Detective Dwight Murphy was honored at a ceremony at the US Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida where US Attorney Bobby O’Neill awarded Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Awards in several categories. Detective Murphy received not one, but two awards for his outstanding efforts. The first award was for Special Prosecutions for his part in the Steven Buemel (defendant)/Mayo Clinic wrongful death case. The second was for Economic Crimes for his part in the Lydia Cladek Ponzi Scheme case.
Congratulations to our newest Lieutenant, Carl Lane!
Congratulations to our 2012 SLECA award winners! Lt. Violeta Serrano (left) SLECA Leadership Award and Lt. Deborah de la Paz-Boxer (right) SLECA President's Award.
Detective Dwight Murphy and AG Pam Bondi. Det. Murphy was nominated for the AG Officer of the Year.
Director Anderson receiving a $350,000 asset sharing check from from Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel for joint "Operation Dirty Money".
North Region In The News: 19 Arrested in Staged Accident Ring!
DIF and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) joined forces in 2012 to further combat criminal trends affecting the citizens of the State of Florida.
During a meeting in April, both agencies recognized the far reaching impact that PIP and false Florida identification or driver’s license crimes are having on private citizens, businesses, insurance companies and state agencies. DIF and FHP agreed to combine resources and efforts to increase their effectiveness in combating such crimes.
To this end, the following initiatives have been put in place:
- Training - DIF is now a regular guest speaker at FHP academy classes providing training to recruits on PIP staged accident schemes and their connection to fraudulent PIP clinic billings plus additional related crimes. FHP is now using DIF’s on-line PIP fraud presentation specifically designed for first line responders during roll calls and in-service training.
- Public Awareness - DIF’s monthly PIP Fraud Newsletter (the PIP Source), which covers the latest developments and enforcement actions, is now being shared with FHP personnel. Press releases associated with PIP Fraud are being shared. Agencies have hosted joint press conferences to raise awareness on PIP Fraud. Possible public service announcements and billboard signs are being looked into. FHP has created a new web page called “Protecting Yourself Against Staged Accidents” where it is hosting web links, videos and brochures from DIF to make information more readily accessible to the public.
- Enforcement Actions – A new simplified electronic referral form has been developed by DIF and made available to FHP troopers to quickly report suspicious accidents when they occur thereby facilitating a speedier investigation by DIF. Two FHP troopers have been assigned to work PIP Fraud on a part-time basis with DIF in the Miami-Dade and Tampa field offices. A possible third part-time FHP trooper may be assigned at a future date to work in DIF’s Broward office investigating false ID cards employed in Workers’ Compensation Fraud and Money Service Businesses (MSB). A formal process has been established to exchange information and investigate fraudulent identification/drivers license cards.
DIF WC Staff Recipients of 2012 BSO Sheriff's Special Recognition Award.
Crime Intelligence Analyst Lisa Gonzalez (center) graduates from the Florida Law Enforcement Analyst Academy.
Congratulations to Jorge Pena on his promotion to Lieutenant over the Miami WC Squad!
Congratulations to David Lindsay on his promotion to Captain of the Panhandle Region!
As a result of an investigation, DIF returns over $20,000 to Risk Management. Click here to read more.
