As a criminal defense attorney in Broward County can explain, insurance fraud occurs when a person files an insurance claim with the intention to fraudulently receive a payment from an insurance company to which he or she is not entitled.   A criminal defense attorney in Broward County can explain that these cases are aggressively prosecuted in Florida.  They can take on many forms, including:

Automotive Insurance Fraud

This type of fraud can occur if a person intentionally damages his or her property in order to receive payment from the insurance company.  For example, a person may stage an accident or burn the car in order to receive benefits under his or her own insurance company or that of another person’s company.

Homeowners Insurance Fraud

Homeowners insurance fraud may be committed if a person intentionally damages his or her own real property in order to obtain an economic benefit through the filing of an insurance claim.  This can also occur if a homeowner lies about property being lost or stolen in order to receive the insurance benefits for this property.

Healthcare Fraud

Healthcare fraud can occur when medical providers submit claims for reimbursement to Medicaid or other systems to which they are not entitled.  This can occur if a healthcare provider double bills patients or bills for services that were unnecessary or not rendered.

Workers’ Compensation Fraud

This type of fraud can occur if an employee files a wrongful claim by stating that he or she was injured at the job when he or she was not.

Other Criminal Charges

In addition to the fraud charge, individuals may be charged with any underlying criminal actions that contributed to the fraud, such as theft, arson or intentional destruction of property.