10 ARRESTED IN PATIENT BROKERING SCHEME

 

 

 

 

 

PIO Number: 17-9-6                                                       BSO Case Number: 90-1505-002984

 

Date: Sept. 6, 2017                                                         Time: n/a

 

Jurisdiction: Broward County

 

Place of Occurrence: Various  

Victim(s):

• State of Florida

Suspect(s):

Attorneys:

• Adam Hurtig, 46, male, 3/19/71, 1704 N.E. 16th Ave., Fort Lauderdale
• Alexander Kapetan, 44, male, 11/30/72, 3249 N.E. 31st Ave., Lighthouse Point
• Vincent Pravato, 48, male, 9/14/68, 10138 Laurel Road, Davie
• Steven Slootsky, 57, male, 8/20/60, 3054 N.W. 60th St., Boca Raton
• Mark Spatz, 58, male, 3/29/59, 13185 S.W. 28th Court, Davie

Solicitors:

• Joaquin Barreda, 39, male, 6/13/78, 5300 S.W. 21st Court, Plantation
• Mark Eskin, 62, male, 1/10/55, 22274 Vista Lago Drive, Boca Raton
• Richard Kist, 36, male, 7/12/81, 6246 Riverwalk Lane, #6, Jupiter
• Elvira Perchitti, 53, female, 1/31/64 & James Perchitti, 61, male, 2/13/56,1912 S.E. Hillmoor Drive, Apt. 57, Port St. Lucie

Description of Incident:

Earlier this month, five South Florida attorneys and five of their accomplices were arrested in a patient brokering scheme that earned them more than half a million dollars in profits.

Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, who are part of BSO’s Organized Crime Unit, began investigating the case in May 2015 with the assistance of the Department of Financial Services, National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the Broward State Attorney’s Office.

The investigation undercovered several personal injury attorneys who were paying individuals to unlawfully solicit unsuspecting vehicle accident victims to make insurance claims for loss/damage or claims for personal injury protection benefits. In most cases, the attorneys paid the solicitors $500 to $1,500 per client successfully referred. The attorneys would in turn refer the accident victim to a healthcare facility in exchange for a cash kickback of $1,500 to $2,500 per patient. After the patient was brokered to the healthcare facility, the facility would provide treatment and bill the auto insurance companies for claims covered by the PIP benefits, thus defrauding the insurance companies.

From May 2015 to Dec. 2016, the group received kickbacks totaling more than $521,000.

The suspects are facing numerous charges including organized fraud, criminal solicitation and patient brokering.

INVESTIGATORS: Det. Kristy Frederick & Mike Freeley, SID OCU

THIS REPORT BY:  Keyla Concepción/ PIO 9/20/17 1620

Posted At: 09/19/2017 03:47 PM