TEXT-ONLY VERSION

GOVERNOR BUSH ANNOUNCES HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

Monday, May 17, 2004, is the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision which led to the desegregation of the nation’s public schools. America has come a long way in the five decades since the nation's highest court struck down the ''separate but equal'' doctrine, long used to justify a two-tiered system of education.

Yet work remains for the goal of equal educational opportunity for all Floridians. One step toward this goal is school choice, where Florida is a leader in the nation in its range of opportunities. It’s my hope that our school choice and voucher programs, along with our public schools, continue to grow in the quality of educational experience for each and every student.

Florida’s voucher programs now serve an estimated 24,000 children and empower parents to pursue high-quality educational opportunities. For these vital programs, financial accountability is crucial to their continued success. I firmly believe that just as we hold Florida’s students to high standards, we must also hold government to the same standards.

On another topic of interest to Floridians, I applaud the Governor’s push to make Florida a leader in offering small employers and their employees access to tax-advantaged health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). These accounts will help Floridians pay for out-of-pocket health costs with pre-tax dollars and empower them to make wise financial decisions about their medical care.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced that four officers of the former Miami-based Aries Insurance Company have been charged with diverting more than $60 million from the company. Aries was ordered into liquidation in 2002.

Aries wrote personal and commercial auto and property coverage, as well as workers’ compensation coverage, and had about 70,000 policyholders when it was taken into receivership. Investigators with the Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud, said Marcos Fraynd, sons Paul and Saul, and daughter Fanny Fraynd willfully misrepresented the company’s 2001 financial statement to cover up the theft.

“This conduct has cost Florida’s taxpayers more than $100 million as state guaranty funds have had to step in to cover outstanding claims and return premiums to policyholders,” Gallagher said. “I am grateful to the investigators and the Office of Statewide Prosecution for persevering in following this money trail and bringing these charges to fruition.”  CONTINUED

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced that New York resident, Vincent Gaines, Jr., was sentenced in federal court to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay $98,000 in restitution after faking the identities of at least three Floridians in order to collect nearly $200,000 in unclaimed cash being held by the state.

The sentence follows a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) Office of Fiscal Integrity and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Gaines, 35, of Queens, NY, falsified the driver’s license information and social security card of a Florida man in an attempt to collect nearly $98,000 from the Bureau of Unclaimed Property, also part of DFS. After investigators detected the scam, it was discovered he had already collected $98,000 in unclaimed property by falsifying the identity of a Florida couple.
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WOMAN CHARGED WITH SELLING PHONY INSURANCE CARDS

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced the arrest of a woman who sold phony motor vehicle insurance cards to an undercover insurance fraud investigator with the Department of Financial Services.

Tia L. Brown, 36, owner of T.N.T. Tag & Title, located at 665 SW 27th Ave., sold the investigator two fraudulent motor vehicle insurance cards for $50.  She is charged with creating, marketing or presenting a false or fraudulent motor vehicle insurance card, a third-degree felony.

“The sale of phony insurance cards is a growing and serious problem,” Gallagher said.  “Drivers who buy and use these fake cards put themselves and everyone on the road at risk because if they have an accident they will have no coverage.” CONTINUED
 

Three teens have been arrested after confessing to setting several fires in the Ft. Myers Shores area. The arrests come after Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Tom Gallagher issued a warning to parents to be on guard against juvenile arson as the summer months approach.

“Arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement of all other serious crimes,” Gallagher said. “Given the chance, children will play with fire, and most fire deaths involve children. These are preventable occurrences that can be stopped with education and information.”

Gallagher issued the warning during Arson Awareness Week last week. Florida is one of seven states participating in a new Juvenile Firesetting Intervention and Prevention Project. The Florida project is being coordinated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. CONTINUED

Division of Workers' Compensation

MIAMI COUPLE CHARGED WITH FRAUD, GRAND THEFT
Investigators say husband faked injury

A husband and wife are facing insurance fraud and grand theft charges after a Department of Financial Services’ investigation revealed that the husband faked a serious mental injury from an on-the-job accident.

FCCI Insurance Group’s Special Investigative Unit referred the claim to the department’s Division of Insurance Fraud when company investigators said they saw Ismael Vasquez , 64, driving and shopping alone. In a November 2002 deposition, Vasquez appeared to be in a stupor and his wife, Maria Sansivirini, testified that he was totally dependent on her.

“Workers’ compensation fraud wreaks havoc with Florida’s economy,” said Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who oversees the Department of Financial Services. “Employers struggle with the higher costs of insurance, workers suffer when employers may be forced to cut jobs or benefits, and we all pay through higher costs for goods and services.”   CONTINUED

A man has been charged with selling fraudulent motor vehicle insurance cards to nearly 200 South Florida drivers, at least a dozen of whom are now facing charges for using the fake cards, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced today.

Howard M. McKinon, 57, of 481 W 30^th St., Riviera Beach, was arrested on 14 counts of marketing a false or fraudulent motor vehicle insurance card and one count of organized scheme to defraud. If convicted on all of the charges, he could face up to 75 years in prison. The charges stem from an investigation by the Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. McKinon was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the charges.

“This individual may have put countless citizens at risk as these drivers were driving uninsured,” said Gallagher, who oversees the Department of Financial Services. “We intend to send a strong message that we will not tolerate anyone putting citizens at such risk.”  CONTINUED

OFFICE OF FISCAL INTEGRITY

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher announced the arrest of a West Palm Beach resident for stealing more than a half-million dollars in state funds for personal use.

Thomas Edward Kinsey, age 61, was arrested today by investigators with the state Department of Financial Services, and charged with felony grand theft in the first degree. If convicted, Kinsey faces up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Kinsey was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.

“Stealing taxpayer dollars for personal gain is unconscionable and warrants swift and severe action by state prosecutors,” said Gallagher, who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CONTINUED