An elderly couple living in the city of Hialeah were arrested for making fraudulent claims to the GEICO insurance company. According to the authorities’ report, those arrested were identified as Pedro Orlando López, 76 years old, and his wife Tobías Herrada, 75.
The elderly pair, who appeared in court this week, were in a crash without major damage in mid-2022, when they were driving on 49th Street and 17th Avenue, west of Hialeah.
While both were traveling in the same vehicle, with Herrada at the wheel and López as a passenger, both filed separate claims with the insurance company, alleging that they suffered injuries after the incident.
As a result, the company paid $10,000 to each of them, this to pay for alleged medical treatments that were performed. However, a subsequent investigation revealed that the couple had committed a scam to keep these large amounts of money.
At this time, no further details about the case have been revealed, such as the exact charges the elderly face.
Cubans are recruited to defraud insurance companies
In 2023, it was learned of a criminal network that hired migrants recently arrived in Florida to fabricate fake accidents and be able to claim money from various insurance companies. As was learned on that occasion, many of these migrants were of Cuban origin, and were looking for a way to start earning money, which facilitated their recruitment.
Criminal lawyer Albert Quirantes told the local media America TeVé that the organizers of this type of scam offered up to $500 to those interested in participating in the fake accidents, which resulted in thousands of dollars in profits.
“These fictitious accidents often begin in private pain clinics, and people rarely go to the emergency room,” the expert said.
Four of these Cubans were arrested after they tried to fraud an insurance company. On that occasion, it was learned that they were traveling aboard a Toyota Corolla and a Chevy truck when they had an “accident” at the intersection of 43rd Street and 9th Lane.
After being interrogated by the authorities, they noticed inconsistencies in their stories, so an exhaustive investigation began in which those involved ended up confessing to having been recruited by this network of scammers.
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