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NORTH REGION
The
North Region is comprised of three field offices
and one resident agent office. The region is the
largest geographic area within the Division,
covering 38 counties across northern part of
Florida. A total of four squads, located in
Jacksonville, Ocala, Tallahassee and Pensacola,
cover this expansive region. Each of the squads
investigates a wide varied of crimes that
comprise insurance fraud. The Jacksonville
Field Office handles cases in Baker, Bradford,
Clay, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton, Nassau, St.
Johns, Suwannee, and Union counties. The
Ocala resident agent office handles cases
located in the counties of Dixie, Marion,
Citrus, Putnam, Flagler, Alachua, Gilchrist, and
Levy. The Tallahassee Field Office covers
the following nine counties: Franklin, Gadsden,
Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison,
Taylor, and Wakulla. The Pensacola Field Office
anchors the northwest section of Florida and
handles cases in Gulf, Bay, Calhoun, Escambia,
Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton,
and Washington counties.
North Region Commander
Captain Donald
Taylor
Captain Taylor
is a
graduate of the University of Florida holding a
Master's degree in Accounting along with a
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration
from Valdosta State University. He is a
Certified Fraud Examiner and member of the
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Captain Taylor joined the
Division as the Jacksonville Field Office
supervisor in 1997. He has been the
Jacksonville Field Office lieutenant for over
ten years.
Prior to joining
the Division he worked as a Special Agent for
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
and as a Community Oriented Police
Officer/Patrol Officer with the for the
Gainesville Police Department.
Captain Taylor
is located in the Division’s Jacksonville Office
and can be reached at 921 N. Davis Street,
Building B, Suite 149, Jacksonville, Florida
32209. Telephone: (904) 798-5802. E-mail:
Donald.Taylor@MyFloridaCFO.com
Office Supervisors
Lieutenant Lovel
“Buddy” Hand
(Pensacola)
Lieutenant
Buddy Hand currently supervises the Pensacola Field
Office. He has an Associates
Degree in Criminal Justice from Pensacola Junior College
and is currently working towards his Bachelors Degree
from the University of West Florida.
Lieutenant Hand came to
the Division of Insurance Fraud on January 3, 1994, from
the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office where he
distinguished himself as a major crimes investigator.
Since his initial employment with the Division, he has
been assigned to the Pensacola Field Office, and served
as Lead Detective for his squad since April 2000.
As a detective, Lt. Hand specialized in significant case
investigations and co-founded the Northwest Florida
Medical Fraud Task Force. This task force has been
a national forerunner in the prosecution of healthcare
professionals involved in the abuse of Oxycontin and
other highly addictive prescription drugs. In 2005,
Lieutenant Hand was awarded “Officer of the Year” by the
Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee. Also in
2005, he received the Florida Attorney General’s
Certificate of Commendation for Meritorious Service and
was nominated for the State Law Enforcement Chiefs
Association's “Officer of the Year” award.
He has received numerous Davis Productivity Awards
throughout his tenure at the Department.
Lieutenant Hand is
located in the Division’s Pensacola Office and can be
contacted at 610 East Burgess Pensacola, Florida 32504.
Telephone: (850) 453-7802. E-mail:
Buddy.Hand@MyFloridaCFO.com
Lieutenant Selaina Smith Porter
(Tallahassee)
Lieutenant Porter currently
supervises the Tallahassee Field Office.
Selaina Porter is a graduate of the University of West Florida
and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
She is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners.
Lieutenant Porter came to the
Division of Insurance Fraud in August 1988, and served for ten years
as Lead Detective for the Tallahassee Field Office, Unauthorized
Entities Section, and the Public Employee Fraud Unit.
She was previously employed with the Tallahassee Police
Department, where she served on patrol for two years before being
transferred to the Criminal Investigations Division, where she
specialized in white collar crimes, Bunco crimes, and auto thefts.
While at TPD she was a founding member of the Nation
Association of Bunco Investigators, and co-authored an article on
short-change artists, which was published in Internal Auditing.
Lieutenant
Porter is located in the Division’s Tallahassee Field Office and can
be contacted at 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL
32399-0324.
Telephone: (850) 413-4011.
E-mail: Selaina.Porter@MyFloridaCFO.com
Lieutenant Brian McCoy
(Jacksonville)
Lieutenant Brian McCoy supervises the
Jacksonville field office and the Ocala Resident Agent Office. Brian
McCoy is a graduate of Nova University holding a Masters Degree in
Public Administration/Criminal Justice along with a Bachelors Degree
in Public Administration/Criminal Justice from Saint Thomas
University.
Lieutenant McCoy joined the Division as an
investigator on November 10, 2003 and he has been investigating
healthcare provider fraud. He was promoted to Lieutenant on July 29,
2008. Prior to joining the Division he worked as the Coordinator of
Public Safety Programs for the Institute of Public Safety at Broward
community College. He spent 5 years with Motorola as a Security
Manager and 25 years with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department
where he retired as a Detective Sergeant. During his time with Fort
Lauderdale he was a Sergeant with the Metropolitan Intelligence Unit
(MIU), a multi agency Task force investigating organized criminal
organizations where he supervised the Strategic Intelligence Unit
and Analytical Function. He Supervised a 30 man SWAT Team,
with responsibilities for budgeting, training and full SWAT
operations. He also served as Chairman of the Florida Intelligence
Unit. He is a Florida State Certified Instructor and taught as an
Adjunct Professor at Florida International University for 5 years.
Lieutenant McCoy is located in the Division’s
Jacksonville Office and can be reached at 921 N. Davis Street,
Building B, Suite 149, Jacksonville, Florida 32209. Telephone: (904)
798-4872. E-mail:
Brian.McCoy@MyFloridaCFO.com
Regional
Accomplishments
The North Region was recognized by the Florida Tax Watch/Prudential
Davis Productivity Award for their accomplishments this past year.
This is certainly a wonderful accomplishment to have all of the
North Region’s Field Offices recognized at the same time for the
fine service they provide to the citizens of this State
Pensacola
and Tallahassee Field Offices both received Certificates of
Commendation.
Jacksonville Field Office received the Notable Cash Award - $500
Statistics
The
Jacksonville and Ocala squads consists of ten
sworn detectives, and an administrative
secretary. The squads received 793
referrals during 2006/2007 fiscal year, opening
97 new cases. During this same
period of time the squads made 60 arrests and
had 60 convictions. The squads carry an
average combined active caseload of
approximately 170 cases. During the 2006/2007
fiscal year the offices requested the courts
award over $8,000,000.00 in restitution to the
victims involved in their cases.
The
Pensacola Office currently consists of seven
sworn detectives, and an administrative
secretary. The squad received 488
referrals during the 2006/2007 fiscal year,
opening 94 new cases. During this same
period of time the squads made 42 arrests and
had 29 convictions. The squad carried an average
combined active caseload of approximately 61
cases. During the 2006/2007 fiscal year the
courts awarded over $1,000,000.00 in
restitution to identified victims.
The Tallahassee Office currently
consists of five (5) sworn detectives, a
criminal intelligence analyst and an
administrative secretary. This squad
received 99 referrals during the 2006/2007
fiscal year, opening 43 new cases. During
this same period of time, this squad made 28
arrests and had 19 convictions. The squad
carried an average combined active caseload of
approximately 34 cases. During the
2006/2007 fiscal year, this office requested
that the courts award over $2,000,000.00 in
restitution to the victims involved in their
cases.
Case
Highlights
The Region was involved in a wide range of criminal
investigations throughout the year. Three areas
of concern (Medical Fraud, Identity Fraud and
Unauthorized Entity Fraud) occupied the Region
throughout the year:
Medical Fraud
When
most of us think about the illegal drug trade
the picture of licensed doctors, nurses and
other healthcare workers participating in this
illegal activity usually doesn’t come to mind.
The Northwest Florida Healthcare Taskforce
(DIF,FBI,FDLE,AHCA,DCIS, and United States
Attorney’s Office ) has seen how these rouge
“professionals” have killed and ruined the life
of countless people.
Ø
Doctor Thomas Merrill became the latest doctor
to be sentenced to life in prison after the
taskforce charged him with causing six deaths
related to the “pill mill” he was running in the
Panama City –
Apalachicola
area. On July 10, 2006, Merrill was sentenced by
Federal Judge Casey Rogers to six life
sentences. He was also fined $9,800.00 and
ordered to pay $115, 017.01 in restitution to
BCBS, Medicaid, and Tricare.
Identity Fraud
This crime is becoming more rampant throughout
the nation and state. When someone's
identity is stolen, the impact goes far beyond
their immediate finances.
Ø Using various identities, Waylon
Gregory obtained insurance policies from Progressive Auto Insurance,
State Farm Insurance and GEICO Insurance. For each policy, Gregory
would always obtain the maximum amount of coverage allowed by the
insurance company. A short time after he obtained the policies,
Gregory would intentionally crash the vehicles and file claims for
payment of medical expenses, property damage, personal injury
protection and uninsured motorist coverage. When the insurance
proceeds were disbursed, Gregory would then keep the proceeds and
spend the money at his leisure. In addition, Gregory would also file
workers’ compensation claims and slip and fall injuries which were
believed to be fraudulent.
From 2001 to present, Gregory has received insurance benefits in
excess of $189,880.55. Since
2001, Gregory had the potential and attempted to obtain insurance
benefits in excess of $3,477,000.00.
On June 18, 2008, Waylon Gregory was convicted in the Northern District of Florida Federal Court.
Gregory was sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in Federal Prison for
three (3) counts of mail fraud and two (2) counts of Aggravated
Identity Theft. He was ordered to pay restitution to victims
totaling almost $196,000.
Gregory was ordered to serve three (3) years probation at the end of
his prison term.
Unauthorized Entities
When unauthorized entities set up shop in
Florida lives are going to be ruined. Citizens
and businesses
struggle to pay health or workers compensation
premiums then find themselves unable to collect
benefits when they file a legitimate claim.
The
victims
are left facing financial ruin due to staggering
medical bills.
Ø
An investigation by the Division’s Jacksonville
Office, the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement, and the United States Attorney’s
Office determined that a
non-licensed/non-existed insurance company named
Regency Insurance of The West Indies failed to
secure workers' compensation insurance for
approximately thirteen (13) employee leasing
companies, who employed over 33,000 employees
throughout Florida and several other states.
Fourteen (14) people have been convicted in the
insurance scam, which is believed to be the
biggest ever in Florida, a 15th defendant is at
large in England, and another died while under
investigation. The restitution ordered by
the courts to the victims to date has been over
$82,000,000.00.
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