Geico v. 01138
In 01138 filed in 2012, Geico claimed that two Clinics were staging accidents. Geico noticed that many of the accidents shared most of the same characteristics: (a) the vehicles involved in the staged collisions were all recently purchased around 30 days prior and insured with GEICO; (b) the vehicles were involved in multiple staged collisions; (c) the accidents took place within a 5 mile radius from one of the clinics; (d) the accidents all took place near the two clinics even though the drivers and passengers did not live/work nearby; (e) the accidents all happened between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm when there was very little traffic.
Geico took Examinations Under Oath of patients and found out that the participants were paid $500 for participating in the staged collisions and $500 for after treating for a certain number of visits at the clinics. Multiple participants said that they were scared of getting in trouble and freely told Geico everything. One woman named Jayda said that a person named Will purchased a white Mercedes in her name and gave her $200 to purchase insurance. Will then picked Jayda up in the white Mercedes, drove Jayda to a spot where multiple people were standing on the side of the road, and parked the Mercedes on the side of the road. After a short period of time a green Jaguar driven by a friend of Will smashed into the rear of the white Mercedes and three people besides Jayda jumped into the white Mercedes. Afterwards, the police were called, a report filed, and an insurance claim opened. Jayda received $500 for being on the police report and $500 for signing blank medical forms and daily visits. Jayda told Geico she felt “used by Will” because she saw heard other people made more money than her.
Another patient told Geico on a recorded statement that she was paid $1,800 to pretend being injured in the staged collision. She stated that her apartment was robbed the day after she was paid the $1,800 and she believes it was the people who organized the accident. She told Geico everything she could because of this.
Life Hack:
If you are going to commit insurance fraud, then do not screw over the people who participated in the fraud with you.
DISCLAIMER
This is based on a real court case that was previously filed against a medical provider/doctor. The case number has been partially redacted and names have been changed to protect the Defendants’ names. This example is posted to help educate others on the laws and potential pitfalls. This posting is not intended to embarrass or defame anyone. I have limited the information and simplified some of the facts in the lawsuit to reflect key points and make a complicated case easier to understand. This “example” is directly from a complaint filed by an insurance company; therefore, I am using the facts THEY presented. There are always two sides to a story so please understand this is just one side of the story. This information was found through records available to the public.