TAMPA MEDICAL CLINIC RECORDS SEIZED, OWNERS ARRESTED

Investigators with the Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud, seized hundreds of records from a medical clinic and arrested the three owners on charges of organized scheme to defraud, insurance fraud and grand theft following a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, Economic Fraud Unit; with the assistance of Geico Insurance Co.

Medical Rehabilitation Center, at 3430 West Lambright St. was the focus of a four-month investigation into allegations that owners Lev Vybinov, 53, Boris Pismichenko, 50 and Greg Morkhalyov, 48, were responsible for accident victims being solicited and automobile insurance companies being billed as much as $100,000 for services that were not rendered. 

“It is estimated that auto insurance fraud adds as much as $240 to the average Florida family’s auto insurance premium each year,” said Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who oversees the Department of Financial Services.  “It is a crime we all pay for.”

Investigators said at least one accident participant was offered $100 at the scene of an accident to go to Medical Rehabilitation Center.  Other patients were billed for services such as massage, electrical stimulation and hot packs that were never rendered.  Investigators discovered that the employees that were performing massages were not licensed to do so.

Investigators anticipate additional arrests.

Vybinov, 14512 Thornfield Court, Tampa, Pismichenko, 94 Kingsland Road, Monmouth Jct., N.J. and Morkhalyov, 1311 Brightwater Ave., Apt. 6D, Brooklyn, New York,, were booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, with bond set at $30,000 each. 

The Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud, investigates various forms of fraud in insurance, including health, life, auto, property and workers’ compensation insurance. Anyone with information about this case or another possible fraud scheme should call the department’s Fraud Hotline at 1-800-378-0445.  A reward of up to $25,000 may be offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.