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West Palm Beach residents charged in staged-accident scam

By Palm Beach Business.com

WEST PALM BEACH — A federal grand jury has indicted 11 South Florida residents on fraud charges stemming from two separate staged-accident insurance schemes, authorities announced Monday.

According to court records, the two schemes took advantage of Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law that requires drivers to maintain a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage per person. The defendants, according to authorities, submitted claims for the treatment of injuries stemming from “accidents” that were staged.

The defendants recruited others to participate in the scheme and taught them how to stage the accidents, what to tell police at the scene of the accidents, insurance companies and independent doctors who might examine them. They also told them what clinics to go to for “treatment.”

Those charged include Obelio Rodriguez, a/k/a Ovy, 43 formerly of West Palm Beach; Maria Molina, a/k/a Cary, 41 of West Palm Beach; Yuliet Tapanes, 25, of West Palm Beach; Moises Madrid, a 40-year-old massage therapist from Orlando; Dagoberto Milian Lopez, a/k/a Lavadora, 56 formerly of West Palm Beach.

Also charged, Amaurys Hernandez, a/k/a El Manco, 40 of West Palm Beach;  Gilda Garcia, a/k/a Hilda, a/k/a La Que Carta, 49, of Greenacres; Javier De La Caridad Troncoso, 45, of Lake Worth; Ana Ovando, 42, of Lake Worth; Janice Velez, 39, of West Palm Beach;  and Jennifer Adams, 38 of Boca Raton, a chiropractor.

All were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and all face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

Adams is the named owner of the chiropractic clinics, although the other defendants maintained financial control of the businesses. The clinics involved in the scheme included:

— OVY Rehabilitation Medical Center on Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach.
— HHR Rehab Medical Center on Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach.
— Chiropractic Center of Palm Beach Corp. on Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach.
— Chiropractic Office of South Florida on Congress Avenue in Palm Springs.
— Florida Mango Massage Therapy Center on Forest Hill Boulevard Lake Clarke Shores.
— New York Medical and Rehab Center on Forest Hill Boulevard Lake Clarke Shores,
— KCC in West Palm Beach.

Rodriguez and Lopez had yet to be arrested as of Monday and are considered fugitives, while other defendants either have been released on bond or are awaiting pre-trial bond hearings. No trial date has been set for any of the defendants.

The U.S. attorney’s office has charged 26 defendants in less than twelve months for their alleged involvement in insurance fraud schemes.