Posted on 06/23/2006 1:48:59 PM PDT by yoe
LOS ANGELES — Twenty-three people have been arrested in what authorities claim is a California ring that staged more than 125 auto collisions and scammed about US$4 million (euro3.2 million) from insurers and drivers.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
yoe wrote:
Carry a throw away camera in your car.....
---Good advice! I always carry a polaroid instant camera ~$25.00 in the car. I put new cartridge in every year to make sure it works. Nothing like cheap insurance.
what for?
Mexican invaders, crooked chiropractors and corrupt lawyers: Three, count them three, redundancies.
Some of us have camera phones.
I haven't read the article, but let me guess. Any Mexicans involved?
I thought so.
That is why I beat the crap out of anyone crashing into me.
I notice most here who are bigots are from the Nov '04 period.
"I notice most here who are bigots are from the Nov '04 period."
You mean realists?
Arrested were Ramon Alfonso Zanoletti, 52, an administrator in a law office, and his wife, Magdalena Zanoletti, 51, who worked at Franklin Chiropractic in Los Angeles. Clarence Franklin, 73, of Cathedral City, who allegedly ran the chiropractic clinic used in hundreds of cases of insurance fraud, also was arrested, according to the DOI.
The other suspects arrested Thursday were:
Jose Gabriel Martinez, 33, of Los Angeles
David Luna Hernandez, 27, of Los Angeles
Manuel Trujillo Ballarta, 32, of Culver City
Silvia Gonzalez, 24, of Los Angeles
Veronica Mendez, 29, of Los Angeles
Cindy Medrano, 22, of Los Angeles
Daniel Marquez, 46, of Los Angeles
Maria Julia Villatoro, 37, of Los Angeles
Maria Estrela Escobar, 41, of Los Angeles
Juana Gladys Pacas, 42, of Los Angeles
Gricelda Andino, 41, of Lynwood
Sinthia Sandoval, 20, of Lynwood
Jorge Luis Maldonado, 46, of Los Angeles
Giovanni Ernesto Morales, 24, of Los Angeles
Miguel Diaz Zuniga, 25, of San Gabriel
Juan Armenta, 37, of Carson
Bernaldo Diaz Ramos, 36, of Los Angeles
Jose Martin Diaz Ramos, 34, of Los Angeles
Jose Santos Lara Cabrera, 32, of Los Angeles
Clorinda Gonzalez, 52, of Los Angeles
For Release: June 22, 2006
Media Calls Only: 213-346-6342
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi Announces Major Bust of "Operation Freeway Squat" Staged Auto Collision Ring on Southland Freeways
Twenty-seven month probe by the Los Angeles County Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force nets 23 total arrests – estimates more than 125 allegedly staged auto collisions, causing an estimated loss of $4 million
LOS ANGELES– Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi on Thursday announced the early morning arrests of 20 suspects involved in a staged auto collision ring dubbed “Operation Freeway Squat.” The bust targeted a major auto insurance fraud ring that involved staged auto collisions which has terrorized drivers on Southern California freeways for over two years. As part of the scam, dozens of participants were recruited to participate in a “swoop and squat” staged-collision ring. Hundreds of individuals may have been involved in the ring.
The 20 suspects were arrested on multiple counts of insurance fraud, some of which stemmed from staging vehicle collisions. All suspects were booked into the Los Angeles County Jail with bail amounts ranging from $30,000 to $60,000.
On June 7, the Los Angeles County Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force (AIFTF) – a task force comprised of investigators from the California Department of Insurance’s (CDI) Fraud Division, California Highway Patrol, and L.A. County District Attorney’s office – served a multiple location search warrant which included one chiropractic clinic, one law office, and three residences. The AIFTF also arrested three suspects on June 7: law office administrator Ramon Alfonso Zanoletti, 52; his wife and clinic administrator Magdalena Zanoletti, 51, both from Santa Clarita; and Dr. Clarence E. Franklin, Jr., 73, of Cathedral City. The suspects were arrested for multiple counts of insurance fraud and were all booked into the L.A. County Jail, each with a $1,000,000 bail.
Noting that dozens of people are suspected of participating in this staged auto collision ring, Commissioner Garamendi issued a strong warning. “It is reprehensible to put lives in danger over the reckless pursuit of cash,” said Commissioner Garamendi. “This alleged crime stemmed from greed, pure and simple. Our investigators will examine every scrap of evidence in every case to lock any perpetrators behind bars.”
The AIFTF began the initial investigation into the alleged staged collision ring in March 2004, which triggered multiple search warrants and arrests warrants to be served in December 2004. Evidence from this investigation led AIFTF investigators to discover another suspected insurance fraud ring, which involved the Zanoletti couple and Dr. Clarence E. Franklin Jr., and a medical facility known as Franklin Chiropractic located in Los Angeles.
AIFTF investigators discovered that Franklin Chiropractic was used in the commission of hundreds of instances of insurance fraud – estimated to have cost several insurance companies millions of dollars. First, Ramon Alfonso Zanoletti would allegedly pay “cappers” for staged collision and non-staged collision cases; then, he would obtain legal representation for these claimants/clients due to the fact he worked in an attorney’s office, according to investigators. Next, Zanoletti would refer the claimants/patients who were injured in the collision to Franklin Chiropractic, where his wife Magdalena Zanoletti worked as the clinic administrator. Investigators said Magdalena Zanoletti would instruct patients to sign in for multiple medical treatments which were never received – in some cases, the patients were instructed to sign-in 30 times or more. She would then generate false medical billings and medical reports, according to the investigation. Dr. Clarence E. Franklin would allegedly sign off on the bogus medical reports indicating he had performed numerous types of examinations, treatments, and consultations when in fact he never rendered these services. These reports were then submitted to the patients’ attorneys for the purpose of filing a false insurance claim. The medical billings were used as a tool to increase the potential settlement amount paid by victim insurance companies.
“This was an elaborate insider operation,” said Commissioner Garamendi. “But today’s arrests will help us put an end to these types of staged hazardous collisions, which endanger the lives of innocent people.”
Many of the collision cases connected to Alfonso Zanoletti resemble the profile of the Swoop and Squat and Sudden Stop-types of staged collisions which target innocent motorists, usually in light duty commercial vehicles on the L.A. and Orange County freeways and surface streets. In “Operation Freeway Squat,” the stagers of these collisions would allegedly target a victim, maneuver a squat vehicle in front of the victim, and use another vehicle to swoop or “cut-off” the squat vehicle giving the appearance of a legitimate reason to slam on the brakes. The unsuspecting victim is then unable to stop in time before crashing into the back of the squat vehicle. The stagers would also use block vehicles in the lanes adjacent to the victim in order to prevent the victim from swerving or changing lanes to avoid the collision. In addition to commercial vehicles, these stagers are also known to target expensive vehicles, SUVs and elderly drivers.
It is estimated that these stagers orchestrated more than 125 auto collisions. Although none of the victims was seriously injured, this type of crime can potentially cause financial, physiological and emotional consequences. The Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force was assisted by the Special Investigations Units of the following insurance companies: Mercury Insurance, State Farm, Bristol West/Coast National, USAA, Western United, Viking Insurance, Automobile Club, Hartford Insurance, Geico, Wawanesa, Progressive, Infinity Insurance, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
LIST OF 20 SUSPECTS ARRESTED ON JUNE 22, 2006
Jose Gabriel Martinez, 33, Los Angeles
David Luna Hernandez, 27, Los Angeles, CA
Manuel Trujillo Ballarta, 32, Culver city
Silvia Gonzalez, 24, Los Angeles
Veronica Mendez, 29, Los Angeles
Cindy Medrano, 22, Los Angeles
Daniel Marquez, 46, Los Angeles
Maria Julia Villatoro, 37, Los Angeles
Maria Estela Escobar, 41, Los Angeles
Juana Gladys Pacas, 42, Los Angeles
Gricelda Andino, 41, Lynwood
Sinthia Sandoval, 20, Lynwood
Jorge Luis Maldonado, 46, Los Angeles
Giovanni Ernesto Morales, 24, Los Angeles
Miguel Diaz Zuniga, 25, San Gabriel
Juan Armenta, 37, Carson
Bernaldo Diaz Ramos, 36, Los Angeles
Jose Martin Diaz Ramos, 34, Los Angeles
Jose Santos Lara Cabrera, 32, Los Angeles
Clorinda Gonzalez, 52, Los Angeles
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/0070-2006/release085-06.cfm
See post #11 for a full list of perps and just about all are Hispanic. I'll bet just about all are recent (been here 10 years and less) immigrants, legal and illegal.
Or know it alls.
nikos1121 wrote:
what for?
--Never know when you'll have a Polaroid moment! Especially with global warming hitting us ;) /s
sportutegrl wrote:
Some of us have camera phones.
---DOH! I always forget i have one of those too! I prefer the easier snap and shoot cams, I got the polaroid and an 8gigapixel cam i always carry around. I'm an "amateur" photographer ;) BWT i noticed your a Sport Ut girl, when that pretty SUV decides to give me coodies i can take instant pics :)
"Or know it alls."
Looks like Post #11 says I do.
Now go away and quit bothering me.
LOL! You're cute.
Looks like democrap voters
8 gigapixel is quite some camera!
How big is the hard drive in your car's trunk to store images?? Or do you just use a built in satellite phone T-3 connection to uplink to a mainframe?
My 8megapixel takes about 25MB of disk/snap, so you need 25,000MB per pic?
Prefix slips are even more fun than misplaced dismal points.LOL
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