Three people are facing numerous charges after they staged car accidents as part of an insurance fraud scheme, Hialeah Police said.
Gabriel Miranda, 35, his wife Ailyn Columbie, 30, and Noemi Vazquez, 44, are facing charges including insurance fraud, patient brokering and organized scheme to defraud.
All three were being held on bond Thursday. It was unknown if they have attorneys.
Hialeah Police worked with several other agencies on the investigation, which began in January. Detectives started looking into staged motor vehicle accidents and the treatment facilities that provide services to those involved in the staged scenarios.
A controlled call was placed to the clinic owned by Miranda and registered to Columbie and it was followed up with an undercover officer visiting the clinic, police said.
"[Miranda] was one of three persons operating a fraudulent pain clinic in Hialeah. Him, his wife Ailyn Columbie and a supposed therapist named Noemi Vazquez were operating this clinic where they would actually pay people to come in with accident reports," Hialeah Police spokesman Carl Zogby said. "You would walk away with your $3,000 and they would bill the insurance company."
Investigators said Miranda even tried to recruit an undercover officer to allegedly help run the fraud. Police said they were looking to arrest Miranda for about a month and finally caught up to him in a traffic stop.
