Insurance Claims Investigation News

WINDERMERE, Fla. — Local and state police chased down a prominent Windermere businessman who is once again headed to jail. This time, Michael Lait is accused of defrauding insurance companies out of nearly $400,000.

Investigators said the charges might not have happened if it weren\’t for his previous high-profile arrests. Lait told insurance companies his back was so bad that he couldn\’t work a moment. But fraud investigators said he was working plenty, ripping off his neighbors.

Windermere police and Florida insurance fraud investigators had to move quickly. They planned on arresting Lait at his Lake Butler Drive home, but he left moments before in a hurry. They pulled him over down the street.

Investigators said, for five years, Lait claimed total disability and collected $6,000 a month from insurance companies for a total of $390,000.

\”The state did some research, investigated and believes he\’s not really disabled,\” said Chief Daniel Saylor, Windermere Police.

Insurance companies complained shortly after a Channel 9 story aired last November when Lait was busted for setting up the West Orange Children\’s Foundation. He convinced one neighbor in the wealthy community to contribute $219,000. Investigators said the charity didn\’t exist.

Investigators also said Lait would unnecessarily buy and sell insurance policies for clients to make huge commissions, worth over $100,000. Insurance companies figured, if he could do that, there wasn\’t a back injury.

Lait was a member of Windermere\’s First Baptist Church. His wife is a teacher at Windermere Elementary School. His latest arrest is another shock to the small town.

Lait is scheduled to go to trail on some of those other fraud charges later this summer

By Bob LaMendola
Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 23 2005

A federal grand jury indicted 18 people and four South Florida medical clinics on Friday on charges of defrauding insurance companies of $8.5 million through staged auto accidents.

The group\’s leaders paid brokers to recruit drivers to pretend they had been in crashes and to come to the four clinics for treatments they didn\’t need and never received, federal prosecutors said in an indictment filed in federal court.

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The clinics then sent fake bills to at least 30 private insurance companies, and in less than two years funneled at least $2.6 million of the proceeds to dummy companies owned by the three leaders of the scheme, the indictment alleged.

\”It was a long and complicated investigation,\” said Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney\’s office in Miami.

In the past, other groups have been arrested for running similar operations, a fraud technique investigators call \”crashing for cash.\”

Identified as the leaders of this group were Boris and Eva Royzen of Fort Lauderdale, and Dmitry \”Danny\” Rakovsky of Aventura.

Also indicted were three physicians, Ambroise Forte of Lauderhill, Enrique Gonzalez-Pujol of Hialeah and Norma Roche of Homestead.

None of the leaders of the operation could be reached for comment with calls to the clinics.

The group allegedly operated out of Vista Mar Medical Rehab in Hollywood, Plantation Medical Recovery, which is now called Broward Wellness Center, in Plantation, and two clinics in the Miami area, prosecutors said.

The Royzens and Rakovsky set up the scheme in 2003 and hired at least four chiropractors and more than a half-dozen massage therapists to run the clinics, the indictment said.

The centers paid as much as $3,200 to brokers for bringing in drivers who agreed to say they had been in fake accidents.

The clinics then billed insurers for fake treatments, including putting limbs in traction, massages, whirlpool therapy and acupuncture, the indictment said.

Prosecutors asked the court to seize the Royzens\’ house a block from Fort Lauderdale\’s beach, Rakovsky\’s six-bedroom home that he bought for $1.1 million in January, plus two condominiums in Plantation and one in the Trump Parc East on Central Park South in Manhattan.

Bob LaMendola can be reached at blamendola@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4526.

July is one of the hottest months in Texas, with temperatures soaring into the 100s, leaving Texans to battle the stifling heat. But the seventh month of the year is also the \”hottest\” for car thieves.

Gary King, East Texas Auto Theft Task Force investigator, said July has proven to be the busiest time for those wanting to steal unsuspecting motorist\’s\’ vehicles.

\”The largest age group arrested for car theft is 15-19 years old. I think it\’s because the kids are out of school and have free time on their hands to commit crimes,\” he said.

King said that car theft in Texas costs more than any other crime.

Car thefts in 2004 cost Texans $757,670,324 and in the 13 counties covered by the East Texas Auto Task Force the cost was $13,099,112.

Smith and Gregg counties lead the area with a combined total of 964 vehicles stolen in 2004.

\”This is a lucrative business and we (auto task forces across the state) are out here trying to recover as many vehicles as we can,\” he said. \”Car theft is so big in Texas and we all know how expensive cars are today. So it doesn\’t surprise me that car theft is the costliest crime in the state.\”

The top 10 vehicles stolen in Texas are Chevrolet pickups, Ford pickups, Dodge pickups, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, GMC pickups, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Tahoe and the Oldsmobile Cutlass.

King said although professional car thieves hit the newer model vehicles, the largest number of stolen cars are older models that are not equipped with alarm systems and anti-theft devices.

King said vehicle owners can help deter thefts by installing alarm systems or using other anti-theft devices or by registering their vehicle under the Help End Auto Theft (HEAT) program.

The HEAT program allows officers to pull a vehicle over during certain times of the night to check ownership of the vehicle. Most cars are stolen between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Stickers mark the vehicles and during the registration process, which is free, motorists can also have the vehicle identification numbers etched on all the windows.

King said the HEAT program is an effective tool at preventing theft.

\”Out of the thousands of vehicles we have registered in the eight years I have been with the task force we have not had one of those vehicles stolen. Thieves, even the joyriders know that the car is registered and can be pulled over to check ownership. The program works,\” he said.

King said between 10 and 20 percent of all stolen vehicles turns out to be insurance fraud, where the owner either pays someone to steal and set fire to their vehicle or they do it themselves.

He said some vehicles are targeted for chop shops while others make their way to Mexico or larger cities where they could be stripped and sold for parts or the VIN is changed and the vehicle is resold.

Prime locations for car theft?

King said gas stations and even day care facilities, where unsuspecting mothers are dropping their children off are two of the prime locations because people leave their vehicles running.

\”In our task force we recover about 80 percent of all stolen vehicles, but for the other 20 percent of drivers who have their vehicle stolen, they never see it again. People need to lock their cars and use some type of deterrent to prevent theft,\” he said.

Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations, Cherokee and Rusk counties. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com