Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced the arrest of Adam Otrok following a vehicle insurance fraud scheme investigators say involved 41 fraudulent applications on luxury vehicles he never owned.
The Department of Financial Services Criminal Investigations Division (CID) arrested Otrok after investigators discovered he allegedly attempted to defraud an insurance company of $206,000 by requesting full refunds of his premiums.
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“Florida has long been the law-and-order state, but we are now making it the anti-fraud state. If you want to commit financial crimes, my investigators will be close behind you. Fraudsters beware—your crimes will not go unpunished in Florida,” Ingoglia said.
How the alleged scheme worked
Investigators say they found that Otrok used counterfeit and fictitious personal identification information to submit the fraudulent vehicle insurance applications. Detectives say he would then stop payment of his premium from an insufficiently funded bank account before requesting a refund — all before the insurance company could detect the invalid payment.
The investigation confirmed Otrok successfully obtained $44,704 in fraudulent funds as part of the scheme.
Charges, potential penalties
Otrok was arrested Aug. 6. He faces charges of organized scheme to defraud, insurance fraud, grand theft, and fraudulent use of personal identification. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecution of the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
The Department of Financial Services encourages anyone with knowledge of fraud to report it at FraudFreeFlorida.com.