Amado Rodriguez of Lake Worth, Florida and Rene Aquino of Miami were arrested Tuesday after they allegedly filed falsified insurance claims following a car crash, news sources report. The suspects allegedly lied about their injuries in a scheme to receive insurance benefits for which they were not entitled. Rodriguez, 45, and Aquino, 45, were booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of fraud and larceny. Rodrigues has since been released on $10,000 bail bond; Aquino got out on $15,000 bail. Reports did not mention a criminal defense lawyer for the suspects.
According to reports, the car crash occurred in August 2010 on Congress Avenue. Rodriguez was reportedly driving with Aquino in the passenger seat. Rodriguez allegedly attempted to make a U-turn in the road and a crash ensued, the details of which are not currently known.
Rodriguez and Aquino reportedly told officers on the scene that they were not injured. After the fact, though, each of the defendants allegedly filed for insurance benefits for 38 different medical treatments related to the crash. The insurance company reportedly sent them each $2,000. Investigators say the duo never received the medical treatments.
Reports say insurance fraud has been on the rise over the last decade. Florida is ranked number one nationwide for insurance fraud, a study by Florida State Farm says. Insurance fraud not only costs insurance companies thousands of dollars each year, it also affects honest customers, who have to pay higher premiums to make up for the insurance companies' losses.
In other news, Stefanie Woods of Boca Raton was arrested Tuesday after she was accused of violating her parole, reports say. Woods, 23, allegedly tested positive for opiates in a urine test. She was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail for the parole violation. It is unclear whether she qualified for bail or hired legal representation.
According to reports, Woods was arrested in 2008 after she and a friend stole $168 from a Girl Scout who had been selling cookies at Winn-Dixie in Boynton Beach. Woods, who was only a minor at the time, was booked into a juvenile detention facility for the theft. Sources say Woods gained the title "Cookie Monster" following the incident. She was released in June 2009.
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