Fraud Roundup

Massage business owner pleads guilty

A Glendale, Calif., skin care and massage business owner has pleaded guilty after California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigators found she was filing claims for acne and chiropractic treatments when her clients were getting facials and massages.

Robyn Alexandre, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of insurance fraud and one count of false tax returns as part of a plea agreement with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Alexandre will serve 52 non-consecutive weekends in county jail or in a private facility, and pay $257,171 to the Franchise Tax Board. Alexandre was also ordered to pay $454,000 in restitution to Blue Cross, Aetna, Blue Shield, and Health Net insurance companies on a percentage of their losses.

On Oct. 26, 2006 Alexandre was arrested on a felony arrest warrant charging her with 19 counts of insurance fraud, six counts of false tax returns, four counts of grand theft, and one count of money laundering. According to investigators, as the owner and operator of the New Life Skin Center, she provided customers with facials and massages that would normally cost $45 to $65 but charged the customers’ insurance companies $250 or more for treatments she did not provide.

A Health Net Insurance Co. investigator uncovered the fraudulent billing practice.

Five arrested in Orange County

Five people were arrested in four separate cases of insurance fraud in Orange County, Calif. The cases include:

• James Toufic Assali, 32, of Irvine, was arrested for filing an insurance claim for rental car payments he allegedly made to himself.

According to Orange Regional Office of the CDI Fraud Division Investigators, Assali submitted a fraudulent rental car invoice to Infinity Insurance claiming $5,235 in rental charges. The invoice showed payment for the vehicle was to be made to “Fortis Rental Solutions.” When Assali was questioned about the invoice, he said he never heard of the company Fortis Rental Solutions and that his wife had made all of the car rental arrangements.

During the CDI investigation, documentation discovered indicated that Fortis Solutions was a company that was registered and owned by Assali since Nov. 20, 2003.

Assali was booked into the Orange County jail for three felony counts of insurance fraud and one felony count of attempted grand theft. His bail was set at $20,000.

• In a separate incident, Irvine couple Cynthia Irvine, 43, and Barry Irvine, 45, were arrested on three felony counts of insurance fraud. According to CDI investigators, on June 13, 2006, Cynthia backed out of a parking space and struck another vehicle, causing property damage and alleged injuries to both occupants. After the accident, she called the Automobile Club of Southern California and obtained insurance for her vehicle, as she was uninsured at the time of the accident.

Later that evening, Barry called the other party and asked them to report a loss date of June 14, 2006, the date their policy would take effect. However, the other party had already reported the loss on June 13, 2006 to their own carrier, Ameriprise Insurance. Cynthia then called Automobile Club and reported the date of loss as June 14, 2006. Bail was set at $20,000 each.

• Oscar Godinez, 23, was arrested on Jan. 25, 2007 in Anaheim, Calif., and was charged with four felony counts of insurance fraud; two misdemeanor counts of falsely reporting a crime; and one misdemeanor count of hit and run with property damage. Bail was set at $30,000.

According to Investigators, on July 11, 2006, Godinez crashed his vehicle into a parked/unoccupied vehicle in the city of Santa Ana, fled the scene of the accident and returned to his home. He then called the Santa Ana Police Department and his insurer AIG and reported his vehicle stolen. During the CDI investigation, Godinez admitted that he was involved in the hit- and-run accident.

• Julie Jo Lagos, 29, was arrested at her residence in Brea on Jan. 25, 2007, and charged with six counts of insurance fraud and one count of hit-and-run. Bail has been set at $25,000. If convicted, Lagos could be sentenced to up to five years in state prison.

According to investigators with the Orange Regional Office of the CDI Fraud Division, Lagos was involved in an auto collision on April 13, 2006. At the time of the collision, Lagos was uninsured. Minutes after the collision, Lagos contacted Auto and Home Insurance Plus and purchased a new policy but failed to disclose to the insurer that she had been involved in the collision. She misrepresented the time of the collision so she could claim it on her insurance.