OCOEE, Fla.,None — Two Orange County men are accused of ripping off health insurance companies by filing false insurance claims.
Investigators with the Florida Department of Financial Services have charged 43-year-old Jean Colin with operating an unlicensed clinic, scheme to defraud, grand theft, and filing false insurance claims.
According to DFS officials, Colin and another suspect, Marc Maxis, allegedly operated Silver Star Health and Rehab to steal thousands from insurance companies. The two are accused of bilking health insurance companies out of roughly $500,000, court records state. Officials say people will stage car accidents, then visit the fake clinics. The “patients” never receive medical treatment but file false insurance claims.
Colin was taken into custody by Orange County deputies on Wednesday and bonded out of jail the next day. Maxis has not been arrested and remains at large.
Judith McKenzie, a chiropractic physician, allegedly fronted ownership of the clinic, which is located at 5026 Silver Star Road. An investigation revealed the clinic was really owned, operated, and managed by Colin and Maxis, who are both not physicians.
No one at the clinic would answer WFTV's questions when a news crew stopped by on Friday.
A spokeswoman said personal injury protection insurance for married drivers went up 58% from 2009 to 2010, due to fake claims. In 2009, the average annual price for PIP was roughly $388, in 2010 that amount soared to $615.
WFTV
