Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced the arrests of five people accused of taking part in an alleged staged motor vehicle collision scheme that investigators say was designed to defraud an insurance company.
The suspects arrested by the Department of Financial Services’ Criminal Investigations Division were identified as Yumilka Melendez Pagan, Yancenia Diaz, Milaimi Gonzalez Acosta, Alfredo Ernesto Phinney Estrada and Vidal Jose Rojas Balbas.
According to the Department of Financial Services, the case began after an insurance company reported a suspicious vehicle incident to investigators. The first two suspects arrested were allegedly involved in a one-car crash in which a vehicle struck a tree. Investigators said they later gathered evidence and obtained confessions indicating the crash had been staged and planned in advance…