Florida Man Charged with Fraud After Claiming He Was in Uber Crash

A South Florida man has been charged in connection with what appears to be a new twist on auto insurance fraud.

State and local authorities said that Victor Van Vickery, 33, of Delray Beach, claimed to be in a Uber ride when it was involved in a collision in 2019. But investigators said the man was not in the car at the time, according to BocaNewsNow.com.

The case began in May 2019, when Vickery ordered an Uber ride for his girlfriend. A few days later, a local law firm contacted Vickery, apparently believing he was in the accident since he had ordered the ride. Vickery played along, going so far as to seek chiropractic treatment for injuries sustained in the accident, authorities said.

The law firm filed a claim with Progressive Insurance. When investigators with Progressive started asking questions, the law firm stopped representing him. Vickery then hired a second firm, based in Miami, a criminal complaint alleges.

Vickery was released on $3,000 bond, according to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Authorities did not indicate if the law firms involved would also be investigated.

The arrest came the same week that a state official reminded Floridians about a reward program for tips about insurance fraud. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said the Fraud Fighter Reward program offers up to $25,000 for information that leads to a fraud conviction.

Tips can be reported by calling 800-378-0445 or by going online to the website FraudFreeFlorida.com.

Patronis said he hopes to enhance the program with legislation that would provide rewards for information that leads to arrests, not just convictions.

Topics Florida Fraud