ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — State investigators say a man was running a fake chiropractic clinic in Orange County, and he's accused of using a legitimate doctor's license to do it.
The suspect, Luc Legerme, has been arrested and already released from the Orange County Jail.
State investigators said he illegally set up the clinic on Pine Hills Road with fake paperwork.
Detectives said there may have been a larger scheme going on that ultimately affects all drivers.
None of the charges he's facing are directly related to that, but the state does say the clinic he operated was likely opened as part of a scheme to bill insurance companies for injuries from staged car crashes.
Dr. Charles Richard Bame has been a licensed chiropractor in Florida since 1982. But state fraud investigators now say Legerme used the doctor's license to fraudulently open the chiropractic clinic.
Investigators said Legerme offered the doctor $10,000 to allow him to use the license.
Bame admitted to investigators the clinic was operated and financed by Legerme, but he worked there from time to time. Legerme was arrested over the weekend.
WFTV stopped by to get Legerme's side of the story, but no one answered the door at his home.
The state said the clinic was likely used to fraudulently bill insurance companies for personal injuries from bogus car accidents. It's a huge problem in Florida that results in higher car insurance rates for everyone.
When WFTV questioned Bame, he denied he was offered any money by Legerme.
"He used my license; let's put it that way. I don't know allowed or not," said Bame.
"OK, so you didn't sign any paperwork saying," asked WFTV's Jeff Deal.
"I'm not going to answer those questions until I talk to the attorney," Bame replied.
The state told WFTV this is still an ongoing investigation and couldn't comment on whether Bame or anyone else related to the clinic will face charges.
Bame told WFTV he recently retired.
WFTV
