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January 2006 State: New York Area of Interest: New York City Police Commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York State Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills Announce the Arrest of 37 Individuals Who Engaged in Auto Theft, The Sale of Stolen Auto Parts and Insurance Fraud New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Kings Country District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York State Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills today announced the takedown of "Operation Brownsville Auto." The base of this operation was an NYPD-run salvage yard in Brooklyn called Brownsville Auto Salvage. Officers from the Department's Auto Crime Division conducted the investigation over the course of 18 months and arrested a total of 37 individuals including one mafia associate. The investigation began in July 2004 when the NYPD leased Brownsville Auto Savage at 257 Hegeman Avenue and installed a detective to serve as proprietor. Initially, the Department legitimately obtained vehicles from insurance companies to provide inventory for the business. However, Brownsville Auto Salvage quickly earned a reputation of being open to illegal activity and as a result, car thieves and insurance scammers came in droves. Within 18 months, the salvage yard took delivery of over 100 cars that were stolen or fraudulently reported as stolen. If the stolen and "give up" cars were sold for parts, they would net a street value of approximately $6 million. Most of the cars were late models, and included high end vehicles such as Cadillacs and Mercedes, but also Hondas and Nissans. The cars were stolen from the five boroughs as well as from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. More than 20 individuals were arrested for auto theft. Source: State of New York State: California Area of Interest: Department of Insurance Fraud Division Aids Bust of 23 in Auto Theft Ring; Operation Helps Thwart Insurance Fraud The California Department of Insurance (CDI) announced Wednesday its major role in the bust of a major auto theft ring that could potentially have generated more than $420,000 in insurance fraud. The CDI Fraud Division was a key part of a multi-agency task force that busted a major car theft ring in La Mesa on Monday. The Department investigated and helped prevent potential insurance fraud in the case, which resulted in 23 people being indicted for a variety of offenses, including alleged car theft, drugs and weapons offenses. The multi-agency operation, dubbed "Operation Deep Impact," included the San Diego County Regional Auto Theft Team, the California Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the La Mesa Police, El Cajon, Chula Vista, and San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County Probation office, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, and the California State Parole Board. During the operation authorities seized 16 weapons - including assault rifles - more than 40 stolen cars, and several thousand dollars worth of illegal drugs. Six children were also taken into protective custody. The operation began last July when authorities set up an undercover operation in a home in La Mesa, ostensibly to traffic in stolen vehicles. As the investigation progressed, drugs and weapons came into play, according to investigators. The defendants will all be charged with various crimes, including auto theft, illegal possession of firearms, sale of controlled substances, and residential burglary. Source: State of California State: California Area of Interest: Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi Announces Major Bust of Workers' Compensation Fraud Ring Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced the arrests of six suspects Tuesday following a two-year, multi-agency undercover investigation into an alleged insurance fraud "mill" that reportedly swindled insurance companies with false billings. The arrests Tuesday came after a Grand Jury handed down indictments related to the investigation, called "Operation Double Helix." Chiropractors and employees at several chiropractic clinics and a law firm are suspected of submitting fraudulent insurance bills, offering excessive treatments, and recruiting others to pose as patients. This investigation began in response to a large number of complaints from insurance carriers regarding suspicious activity by the suspects. Many of the reported incidents allegedly happened at the chiropractic offices of John Aguilar Jr., 45, a Fresno chiropractor who owned Twin Valley Clinic and other clinics in Sacramento, Merced and Fresno. Authorities said that in May of 2003 the involved enforcement agencies began using undercover operatives to pose as victims of automobile accidents. The undercover operatives would go to the clinics owned by Aguilar and report that they had suffered either very minor injuries or no injuries at all. Despite that, they were still given excessive chiropractic treatment and offered payments to recruit other individuals to make additional fraudulent insurance claims, according to investigators. In addition, the undercover operatives were referred to a law firm owned by Ngoan Van Dao, 69, of Westminster. Unlicensed employees would allegedly act as attorneys representing the "victims," helping them gain settlements for their claims. The law firm's employees also allegedly offered jobs to undercover operatives that would require them to recruit more people for the scam. Fraudulent and exaggerated billings were made to both workers' compensation and automobile insurance carriers. The suspects were charged with a variety of offenses, including insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, grand theft, conspiracy to practice law without a license, and capping. If convicted the maximum sentences are: two to five years in prison on each count of insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud; 16 months to three years in prison for capping; one year in prison for grand theft; and 16 months to three years for conspiracy to practice law without a license. Source: State of California State: Florida Area of Interest: Gallagher Announces Stricter Requirements for Reporting Insurance Fraud Tom Gallagher, Florida's chief financial officer, announced today that department rules outlining stricter requirements for insurance companies to report insurance fraud will soon be in place.? In the wake of multiple hurricanes, Gallagher directed the Department of Financial Services' Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) to tighten reporting requirements and enhance penalties for failure to report insurance fraud. Florida law requires insurance companies to report insurance fraud but does not provide clear guidance for when and what to report when an insurance claim is considered suspicious. Under the rules Gallagher is promulgating, insurance companies would be required to:
Gallagher is also pushing for legislation in the upcoming legislative session to fine insurance companies up to $50,000 for failing to implement insurance fraud plans and timely report fraud.? The rule will be considered at a public hearing next month To date, DIF has opened more than 120 investigations of hurricane-related fraud.? More than 30 suspects have been arrested for insurance fraud following the 2004 hurricanes, and eight have been convicted. In the last five years, Florida has led the nation in insurance fraud arrests and convictions, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. Source: State of Florida State: Massachusetts Area of Interest: OSHA Fines Unicco $152,500 Following Fatal Window Cleaning Accident The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unicco Service Company for alleged willful and repeat violations of safety standards following a June 8 accident at the New England Executive Park in Burlington, Mass., that killed one worker and severely injured another. The facilities management and personnel firm faces a total of $152,500 in proposed fines. The accident occurred during window cleaning of a four-story building. One employee was on the roof, tending a rolling outrigger suspension support unit from which a second employee was lowered to clean the windows, when the unit rolled off the roof. Both employees fell about 50 feet to the ground below and the window cleaner was also struck by the falling unit. The tender was killed; the window cleaner sustained severe injuries. OSHA's investigation found that the outrigger unit was not tied back to a rooftop anchorage point, was not equipped with sufficient counterweight and had improperly installed wheels. The employee tending the unit had no experience and little or no training in setting, rigging and using the unit. In addition, both employees' lifelines were tied off to the fallen unit rather than to independent anchorage points on the roof. Tying off to an independent anchorage would have halted their fall. Finally, components of safety harnesses and a lanyard used by the workers were defective. On May 15, 2003, two Unicco window cleaners were killed in a fall at a worksite at 2 Center Plaza in Boston. As a result of that accident, OSHA fined the company $23,500. For the June 2005 accident, OSHA issued two willful citations, with $140,000 in fines, for the improperly rigged and anchored outrigger suspension support unit and lifelines. A repeat citation, with a $12,500 fine, was issued for the defects in the safety harnesses and lanyard. Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration Area of Interest: OSHA Offers New HAZWOPER Guidance Document A new safety and health guidance document posted on the Web today by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will assist workers and employers in determining whether an activity is, or would be considered, an "emergency response" activity under OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard. HAZWOPER applies to employers and workers who may be exposed or potentially exposed to hazardous substances and who are working in specific operations, including emergency response operations for releases, or substantial threats of release, of hazardous substances. "We received inquiries from workers involved in hurricane cleanup and recovery operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast asking whether their activities met the requirements of HAZWOPER," explained Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jonathan L. Snare. "This guidance document was developed to not only help answer those specific questions, but to also provide another resource that will benefit all workers and employers who may be exposed to hazardous substances." The OSHA guide provides an overview of the conditions in which a response or cleanup activity may fall under the requirements of HAZWOPER. It is divided into two sections: The Application of HAZWOPER to Worksite Response and Cleanup Activities and Employee Training for Worksite Response and Cleanup Activities. Each section links to useful information and practical guidance to help with the appropriate response. Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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