Daniel S. Anderson, Director
Division of Insurance Fraud
REPORT INSURANCE FRAUD
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud (BWCF), under the direction of Major Geoffrey Branch in Plantation, is composed of a bureau captain and five dedicated workers’ compensation squads, each supervised by a lieutenant, located in regional offices throughout the state. This configuration places all detectives whose primary responsibility is investigating violations of Florida statutes pertaining to workers’ compensation fraud under a single chain of command focusing the resources of the Bureau on facilitating better communication and permitting the BWCF to be more responsive to the public and its law enforcement and industry partners.
Major Branch started his law enforcement career in 1995 with the Boynton Beach Police Department. There he served
in many capacities, including patrol, multi-agency narcotics task force, detective, street level narcotics
investigations, and senior member of the tactical street crimes unit.
Major Branch joined the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud in May 1999, and was assigned as a detective to the
West Palm Beach Workers’ Compensation squad. This later developed into the 440 Task Force, a squad charged with the
investigation of workers’ compensation premium fraud throughout Florida. As a detective, Major Branch initiated and
conducted several large-scale premium fraud investigations which included a newly-discovered facet, the inclusion of
non-traditional money service businesses (check cashing stores) as a facilitator. He investigated, and subsequently
charged the owners and operators of three of the largest check cashing stores in Broward County.
In October of 2008, he was promoted to lieutenant and supervisor of that unit. In July 2009, he was appointed
chief of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation Fraud. Major Branch holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from
Florida Atlantic University, a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Lynn University, and is also
a certified fraud examiner. Major Branch speaks extensively on the topics of workers' compensation fraud and money
service business investigations, serves as a Division of Insurance Fraud instructor, and as an adjunct instructor
in the criminal justice departments of several colleges and universities.
Captain Vance T. Akins started his law enforcement career with the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office in 1980.
He has over 29 years of law enforcement and investigative experience. Captain Akins’ law enforcement experience
ranges from street level crimes such as narcotics, grand theft, homicide, internal investigations, insurance and
white collar crimes. Captain Akins has served over half of his career as an investigative supervisor holding the
ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and criminal investigations bureau chief.
Captain Akins has participated in legislative reform concerning workers’ compensation fraud and is a member of
the Florida Workers’ Compensation Task Force. Captain Akins has been stationed at the West Palm Beach Office Field
Office for the past 15 years.
Captain Akins is a certified law enforcement instructor, teaching at the DFS fraud detective’s academy. Captain
Akins is a graduate of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, Southern Police Institute Command Officers Development
Course, and represents DIF at many public speaking engagements.
Captain Akins was named captain of the the Bureau of Workers' Compensation Fraud in April 2010.
Ruthell J. Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Florida State University. In 1985, the
Department of Corrections hired Lt. Harris as a correctional probation officer, and she worked supervising both
felony and sexual offenders.
After 15 years with probation, Lt. Harris entered the police academy and, in 2000, received her State of Florida
police certification. In that same year, she continued her law enforcement career by becoming an investigator with
the Division of Insurance Fraud. In July 2008, Lt. Harris was promoted to her current position as supervisor of the
Orlando Field Office workers’ compensation squad where she continues to develop her anti-fraud and management skills
while supervising a squad of detectives.
Lt. Harris is a 2009 graduate of the Southern Police Institute (University of Louisville) Command Officers
Development Course (SPI-Class 51).
Lt. Harris is a 2009 graduate of The Southern Police Institute (University of Louisville) Command Officers
Development Course (SPI-Class 51).
Lt. Rapp began her diverse career with the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud in May 2002, when she was hired
as a detective assigned to the Tampa Field Office. During her first three years as a detective, Lt. Rapp worked
primarily on personal injury protection (PIP) fraud cases. Lt. Rapp was one of four detectives who worked on a
protracted PIP investigation that led to the arrests of 14 individuals and resulted in the first set of patient
brokering convictions in Hillsborough County, in 2005. Prior to being promoted in 2008, Lt. Rapp worked a variety of
general fraud cases, and she specialized in the investigation of licensee fraud. In June 2008, Lt. Rapp won a Davis
Productivity Award for her work on a case that she worked jointly with the Division of Agent and Agency Services and
the Statewide Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation resulted in the arrest and conviction of an insurance agent who
misappropriated homeowner’s insurance premiums from over 40 victims, in multiple counties, during an active hurricane
season. Lt. Rapp currently serves as a lieutenant for the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation Fraud, Tampa West Central
Field Office, where she oversees a squad of five detectives who work closely with the Division of Worker’s
Compensation Compliance and members of the insurance industry to combat worker’s compensation insurance fraud.
Lt. Rapp has an associate’s degree from Nassau Community College in New York, and bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from the University of South Florida, Tampa. In December 2010, Lt. Rapp obtained a Ph.D. from the University of
South Florida in adult education and research and measurement.
Deborah de la Paz-Boxer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from the University of Central
Florida in 1993. Lieutenant de la Paz-Boxer graduated from the Palm Beach Community College Police Academy in 1994,
following which she began her law enforcement career with the Florida Atlantic University Police Department (FAU PD).
While employed by FAU PD, Lt. de la Paz-Boxer served as a uniformed officer and also assisted the detective bureau
with conducting follow-ups and criminal investigations resulting in successful prosecutions.
In March of 2000, Lt. de la Paz-Boxer joined the Division of Insurance Fraud as a detective. Lt. de la Paz-Boxer
has conducted a variety of investigations ranging from health, life, auto & property fraud, large scale solicitation
and personal injury protection, workers compensation fraud, workers’ compensation premium fraud, and check
cashing/money service business fraud cases. Her investigations have resulted in arrests and successful prosecutions
as well as substantial restitution to victims and investigative costs to the state of Florida. Lt. de la Paz-Boxer
has volunteered and participated in the Broward County auto theft task force, the Broward Sheriff’s Office
Department of Homeland Security Counter Terrorism Unit and most recently the Treasure Coast human trafficking
coalition.
In March of 2010, Lt. de la Paz-Boxer was promoted to her current position as a supervisor of one of the
workers’ compensation squads in the West Palm Beach Field Office. Her squad includes two Broward Sheriff’s Office
detectives temporarily assigned to the Division to assist in the targeting of money service businesses which are
facilitating large scale worker’s compensation premium fraud schemes in Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties,
with expansion of investigative efforts to the West Coast of Florida planned soon.
Lt. Whipple, who has been with the agency since 1999, heads up the workers’ compensation fraud squad in West Palm Beach and holds a
bachelor’s degree in business. Lieutenant Whipple formerly was an officer/plain clothes investigator with the Florida Marine Patrol,
currently known as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, from 1990 to 1999. Florida Marine Patrol Enforcement included state and
federal violations involving safety equipment inspections, fisheries violations and drug trafficking enforcement, etc.
During his tenure with the Division of Insurance Fraud, Lt. Whipple has worked as a detective on an insolvency squad and a workers'
compensation squad in the south Florida area. His investigative knowledge includes, but is not limited to the following areas: insurance
agent fraud, organized scheme to defraud and workers' compensation fraud.
Lt. Whipple transferred to Tallahassee headquarters in 2007, where he was assigned to the training unit as a radio tech/ detective
responsible for maintaining the agencies sworn members’ certification standards. He was promoted to lieutenant in May 2008, and in
August 2009, he left the training unit. He briefly headed up the workers’ compensation fraud squad in West Palm Beach. In 2010, Lt.
Whipple transferred to the general fraud squad in West Palm Beach to oversee a variety of insurance fraud investigations. He currently
has accepted the lateral transfer to lieutenant’s position overseeing the workers’ compensation fraud squad in West Palm Beach once again.
Lt. Whipple is currently in his 22nd year in sworn active service for the State of Florida.
Lieutenant Rafael Delgado has 28 years as a sworn law enforcement officer, with seven years at the Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF).
Prior to DIF, Lt. Delgado completed a 21 year law enforcement career with the New York City Police Department. He held the rank of
police officer, police detective, sergeant and supervisor of detective squad. Within the NYPD he was assigned to uniformed patrol,
organize crime control bureau (narcotic division & auto crime division), detective bureau and an FBI task force unit.
In 2002, after completing 21 years with the NYPD, Lt. Delgado retired and worked for the next two years as a pilot for a U.S.
airline carrier in the northeast. In 2005 he moved to south Florida and began a second law enforcement career with DIF, assigned to
the Miami Field Office. Lt. Delgado was assigned to the general fraud squad and then in August 2010 was promoted to lead investigator
and assigned to a personal injury protection (PIP) squad. As well as his investigative duties, Lt. Delgado, who is a certified field
training officer, has been an active training officer for new law enforcement detectives assigned to the Miami Field Office.
In March of 2012, Lt. Delgado was promoted to lieutenant and assigned as the supervisor of the Miami workers’ compensation squad.
Lt. Delgado manages a squad of three detectives who investigate all facets of workers’ compensation fraud in Miami-Dade and Monroe
Counties.
Bureau statistics for this fiscal year through end of third quarter 2012 include 159 presentations for prosecution, 121 arrests. In addition, the squad obtained 78 convictions resulting in $1,585,755.54 in court ordered restitution and $72,701.44 in court ordered investigative costs.
