Press Release:02/12/2009 |
CFO Sink Joins DFS Detectives for Insurance Fraud Arrest in Tampa |
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CONTACT: Nina Banister or Jayme O’Rourke
(850) 413-2842 The arrest is part of a week-long operation seeking restitution on more than $3.5 million in insurance losses TAMPA—Today, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink joined detectives from the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud for the arrest of a woman accused of forging insurance documents in order to collect more than $38,000 in school- readiness state funding. Today’s arrest is part of a week-long operation seeking more than 100 individuals from Pensacola to Miami on insurance fraud-related charges in which at least $3.5 million in insurance premiums were stolen or planned to be stolen. As of Thursday morning, 69 arrests have been made.
The charges stem from several months-long investigations by the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud, a sworn law enforcement agency responsible for the investigation of insurance fraud. Restitution will be sought in every case.
Robbin Broadnax, owner of Little Explorers Daycare in Plant City, forged two certificates of insurance and knowingly submitted them to Polk County School Readiness to facilitate her receipt of early education tax dollars totaling $38,328. If a child at the daycare had been hurt, there would have been no insurance coverage to pay for injuries. She is accused of forgery, uttering (using the forged document), and grand theft; if convicted, she could face up to 30 years in prison.
“Arrests like this send a strong message that we will not tolerate this costly crime in our state,” said CFO Sink. “Fraud inflicts real financial pain on families, businesses and communities.”
The operation has targeted nearly 110 individuals wanted on criminal charges including use of fraudulent identification to obtain employment/workers’ compensation benefits, mortgage fraud, personal injury protection insurance (PIP) fraud, and misappropriations of funds. The arrests were organized through the division’s regional offices; charges are being prosecuted by state attorney offices in the various jurisdictions. Potential sentences could range from five years to 30 years in prison per count.
The majority of charges in this week’s arrests involve auto insurance fraud, from staged accidents to fraudulent Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance claims. The second-largest category of charges involves workers’ compensation fraud, including both claim fraud and employer fraud. Some of the cases involve fraudulent homeowners’ claims and insurance agents who purposefully defrauded their customers.
The Division of Insurance Fraud made over 800 insurance fraud-related arrests in the last fiscal year. Insurance fraud in Florida has been estimated to cost the average Florida family as much as $1,400 a year per person. DFS investigates various forms of fraud in insurance, including health, life, auto, property and workers' compensation insurance. Depending on the estimated loss amount, the department will pay up to $25,000 for information directly leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information about this or any other suspected insurance fraud is asked to call the department's Fraud Fighters Hotline at 1-800-378-0445 or log on to www.MyFloridaCFO.com/fraud. Complaints can be tracked online.
As a statewide elected officer of the Florida Cabinet, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink oversees the department of Financial Services, a multi-division state agency responsible for management of state funds and unclaimed property, assisting consumers who request information and help related to financial services, and investigating financial fraud. Sink also serves as the State Fire Marshal.
DIF February 2009 Arrest Sweep Subject List
DIF – 69 arrests as of 11:00 AM, 02/12/2008 ARRESTS BY JACKSONVILLE FIELD OFFICE
1. Sherry D. Malloy, D.O.B. 01/24/1968 Charged with Arson & Burning to Defraud the Insurer 2. James Castle, D.O.B. 04/30/1962 Charged with Workers’ Comp. Fraud, Grand Theft and ‘Doctor Shopping’ 3. Anthony Raila, D.O.B. 07/10/1965 Charged with Insurance Fraud and Forgery 4. Gonzalo Rivera-Mendel, D.O.B. 01/10/1967 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud 5. Angela Purvis, D.O.B. 01/05/1967 Charged with Insurance Fraud ARRESTS BY TALLAHASSEE FIELD OFFICE
6. Melisa Cain, D.O.B. 12/04/1968 Charged With Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft ARRESTS BY PENSACOLA FIELD OFFICE
7. Robert Griffin, D.O.B. 12/10/1954 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud 8. Clayton Eugene Palmgren, D.O.B. 09/22/1972 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud ARRESTS BY TAMPA FIELD OFFICE
9. Robin Broadnax, D.O.B. 05/22/1977 Charged with Uttering, Forgery, Grand Theft 10. Luis Alberto Duarte, D.O.B. 07/10/1973 Charged with Patient Brokering 11. Edelberto Morejon, D.O.B. 02/24/1960 Charged with Conspiracy 12. Nilda Rodriguez, D.O.B. 06/19/1972 Charged for being Unlicensed to Practice a Health Care Profession 13. Rafael Colina-Nicolau, D.O.B. 02/04/1974 Charged with Insurance Fraud 14. Shambrey Slaughter, D.O.B. 10/22/1988 Charged with Insurance Fraud 15. Roland Barton Jr. D.O.B. 10/22/1987 Charged with Insurance Fraud 16. Lewis Cameron, D.O.B. 11/22/1967 Charged with Fraudulent Motor Vehicle Insurance, Identification Card 17. Cynthia A. Bonilla, D.O.B. 11/15/1975 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud, Grand Theft ARRESTS BY ORLANDO FIELD OFFICE
18. Melanie Tola Spencer, D.O.B. 03/31/1979 Charged with Insurance Fraud 19. Jose Desravines, D.O.B. 12/22/1964 Charged with Application Fraud 20. Gislene Laurere, D.O.B. 11/28/1961 Charged with Application Fraud and Grand Theft 21. Jacqueline Stile, D.O.B. 12/15/1970 Charged with Filing a False Report, Grand Theft 22. Daniel R. Dougherty, D.O.B. 11/25/1956 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud, Grand Theft ARRESTS BY ST. PETERSBURG FIELD OFFICE
23. Brian I. Rothman, D.O.B. 01/22/1967 Charged with Official Misconduct, Theft 24. Dequan Baker, 09/10/1987 Charged with False/Fraudulent motor vehicle insurance card 25. Kenneth Reynard Brown, D.O.B. 12/08/1956 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud, Grand Theft ARRESTS BY WEST PALM BEACH FIELD OFFICE
27. Nicole Kasten, D.O.B. 04/19/1972 Charged with Insurance Fraud 28. Erwin Mejia, D.O.B. 03/30/1979 Charged with submitting a fraudulent social security card number to obtain employment 29. George Zelaya, AKA Jorge Elisee Elvir, D.O.B. 03/17/75 Charged with submitting a fraudulent social security card number to obtain employment 30. Eveline Paul, D.O.B. 07/12/1970 Charged with Insurance Fraud 31. Judner Joseph, D.O.B. 11/02/1988 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft 32. Mimose Jerome, D.O.B. 07/25/1962 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft 33. Daniel Tapia Rivera, D.O.B. 11/16/1972 Charged with Insurance Fraud 34. Frantz Vibert, D.O.B. 1/12/1979 Charged with participating in a staged crash, Theft, Fraudulent Insurance Claim 35. Ricardo Mejia, D.O.B. 10/28/1984 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud 36. Eric W. Moem, D.O.B. 07/23/1965 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud 37. Luis O. Martinez, D.O.B. 02/15/1984 Charged with submitting a fraudulent social security card number to obtain employment 38. Mayra A. Cortes, D.O.B. 10/12/1986 Charged with submitting a fraudulent social security card number to obtain employment ARRESTS BY FORT MYERS FIELD OFFICE 39. Manuel Feliciano, D.O.B. 03/24/1966 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud ARRESTS BY PLANTATION FIELD OFFICE 40. Francisco Nogareda, D.O.B. 05/28/1964 Charged with Staging an Accident, Grand Theft 41. Frank Nogareda, D.O.B. 09/15/1985 Charged with Staging an Accident, Grand Theft 42. Ana Nogareda, D.O.B. 09/07/1965 Charged with Staging an Accident, Grand Theft 43. Dayana Nogareda, D.O.B. 06/08/1987 Charged with Staging an Accident, Grand Theft 44. Zachary Castro, D.O.B. 04/05/1987 Charged with Insurance Fraud 45. Antoine McGee, D.O.B. 08/08/1987 Charged with Insurance Fraud 46. William Baines, 01/21/1985 Charged with Insurance Fraud 47. Juan Carlos Chavez, D.O.B. 12/04/1955 Charged with Fraudulent Insurance Card, Uttering Forged Instruments, Insurance Fraud 48. Eddie Dunbar, Jr., D.O.B. 06/08/1982 Charged with Insurance Fraud 49. Ahyxza Rivera, D.O.B. 06/21/1972 Charged with Uttering a Forged Instrument 50. Geoffrey Goodyear, D.O.B. 09/16/1969 Charged with Grand Theft ARRESTS BY MIAMI FIELD OFFICE
51. Jean Castellano Aman, D.O.B. 03/10/1975 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 52. Maibys V. Garcia, D.O.B. 08/20/1978 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 53. Alfonso Davila, D.O.B. 09/10/1987 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 54. Antonio Rodriguez, D.O.B. 10/24/1956 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 55. Diaren Rodriguez, D.O.B. 09/271970 Charged with Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 56. Eduardo Torres, D.O.B. 11/22/1960 Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud 57. Gustavo Martinez, D.O.B. 09/21/1955 Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud 58. Bernard Goldstein, D.O.B. 05/28/1953 Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud 59. Hymy Maorguin, D.O.B. 08/11/1979 Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud 60. Henry Demayo, D.O.B. 12/16/1948 Charged with Grand Theft 61. James Dyson, D.O.B. 07/26/1985 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 62. Jonathon Dyson, D.O.B. 10/16/1987 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 63. Jorge Reyes, D.O.B. 08/08/1969 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft, Organized Scheme to Defraud, and Patient Brokering 64. Waldo Gonzalez, D.O.B. 11/16/1971 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud 65. Mayori Garcia, D.O.B. 12/11/1986 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud 66. Sandra Himley, D.O.B. 05/01/1959 Charged with Insurance Fraud, Grand Theft and Organized Scheme to Defraud 67. Jose Gil Rodriguez, D.O.B. 11/12/1966 Charged with Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 68. Antonio Basanta Gonzalez, D.O.B. 08/04/1986 Charged with Staging an Accident, Insurance Fraud and Grand Theft 69. Wesley Ohenhen, D.O.B. 10/01/1965 Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud |