Boca Raton, FL- A Boca Raton chiropractor connected with a staged accident fraud scheme has been sentenced to more than four years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to insurance companies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said on Friday.
Jennifer Adams, 39, pleaded guilty in November to a charge of conspiring with others to commit mail fraud in the scheme. She was linked to an accident-staging ring at clinics in West Palm Beach and Palm Springs.
Adams, who agreed to give up her medical licenses, has also practiced in Fort Lauderdale.
According to court documents, drivers and their friends and family members were recruited to participate in the staged accidents. The recruiters coached the participants on how to stage the crashes, speak with police officers and claim injuries.
After they obtained police reports for the bogus accidents, the participants would then file false insurance claims alleging that they, along with their passengers, had been injured, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The participants would then go to chiropractic clinics, Ovy Rehabilitation Medical Center Inc., in West Palm Beach, and Chiropractic Office of South Florida LLC in Palm Springs, and sign blank paperwork indicating they had received treatment.
However, some had received little to no treatment at all, authorities said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Adams lent her name on corporate paperwork for both clinics to allow them to bill the insurance companies for the claims. Although she was listed as the owner, co-conspirators ran the clinics and controlled the bank account.
Court records show that Adams initially believed the clinics were legitimate but remained affiliated with them after learning about the fraud.
The fake claims were submitted to 10 insurance companies that made a total of $1.9 million in payments.
Adams’ 54-month prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Source: Sun Sentinel