MIAMI, Fla. - Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest of four individuals, Abel Vera, Nancy Mercedes Pena, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Maura Perez in Miami-Dade County for allegedly staging an automobile accident and falsely documented the accident with police. The four had a goal of reporting the accident to the automobile insurance company, Kemper Insurance, to exploit the personal injury and protection (PIP) benefits associated with the auto policy for financial gain.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, " It doesn’t matter how clever you think your scheme may be, if you commit fraud in Florida, you will be caught and brought to justice. Staging accidents is incredibly dangerous and fraud like this costs every Floridian in the form of higher auto insurance premiums. We must continue to work together to do everything we can to uncover these fraud schemes and bring these scam artists to justice."

An investigation by the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services' (DIFS) Miami Field Office revealed that Abel Vera, Nancy Mercedes Pena, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Maura Perez were involved in a staged crash in Miami on December 6, 2022. Evidence gathered by a Fraud Detective, in the form of an accident reconstruction and data gathered from the vehicle Event Data Recorder (EDR) revealed the accident never occurred as reported to the police and Kemper Insurance. After the accident report date, all four individuals purportedly sought treatment and physical therapy for injuries they never sustained regarding the accident. Kemper Insurance was billed over $61,000 from the two clinics and paid out over $22,800 for therapy billing of which none of the four individuals were entitled.

All four individuals were arrested on April 12, 2024, and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Center in Miami on charges of Staged Accident, Insurance Fraud, Organized Scheme to Defraud, and Grand Theft. They each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis

Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and X (@FLDFS).