A Florida clinic owner is facing up to 75 years in prison for being involved in a scheme to fraudulently obtain medical payments under the state’s no-fault auto insurance law.
State investigators said they found that David Rodriguez Lopez was involved in more than 26 staged accidents that resulted in 60 individuals being treated through his Jacksonville-based Indian Rehabilitation Center Inc.
He will be sentenced in November, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said in announcing the conviction of Lopez on charges of schemes to defraud, insurance fraud, and participation in a staged accident.
Lopez was the lead individual in securing a straw owner and controlling bank accounts and directing fraudulent clinic operations, officials said. Investigators found that Lopez billed insurers for treatment that never took place or involved equipment the clinic did not possess.
Insurers paid $240,000 in auto personal injury protection medical benefits for the fraudulent services.
Investigators have also arrested 60 other individuals involved in staged accidents, recruiters and the clinic’s office staff. Investigators said the participants participated in staged accidents dating back to March 2012.
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