NICB Opens Central Florida Medical Fraud Task Force

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Aug 10, 2010, 09:00 ET

Move Seen as Critical to Countering Spreading Fraud Problem

DES PLAINES, Ill., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced today that it has established its second major medical fraud task force in Florida to counter the increase and spread in acts of medical fraud.

The Central Florida Major Medical Fraud Task Force is located in Tampa and will focus its investigative resources in the area comprising metropolitan Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Orlando. This includes the beach communities on the west coast of Florida, in Pinellas and Pasco Counties, through the communities east of Orlando to Cape Canaveral and Titusville, south of Jacksonville and north of Lake Okeechobee.

The new task force compliments one of the original major medical fraud task force operations which was established in Weston, Fla., in 2002. Together, these two units focus on medical fraud perpetrated against NICB member insurance companies. Criminals that engage in staged automobile accidents and unnecessary or excessive medical treatments are exploiting Florida's personal injury protection (PIP) and bodily injury laws causing all consumers to pay for their criminal activity through increased insurance costs.

"Our South Florida medical fraud task force has shown how successful we can be in fighting medical fraud," said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. "Our partnership with law enforcement and member company investigators has shut down a number of fraud rings in that area and, as a result, some of the criminals have moved further north. This new task force will make sure they soon know there is no escaping the heat in central Florida."

The Tampa unit is the sixth NICB major medical fraud task force established in the past eight years. In addition for the two in Florida, others are in California, New York, Texas, and metropolitan Washington, D.C.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau: headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by nearly 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2009, or more than 78 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 93 percent ($151 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

Anyone with information concerning vehicle theft and insurance fraud can report it anonymously by calling toll-free 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422), or by visiting our Web site www.nicb.org. You may also text your information to TIP411, keyword "FRAUD" and remain anonymous if you so desire.

SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau