Tallahassee Towing Company Accused of ‘Double Dipping’ Insurance Fraud
(Original posting, all information, text, and imagery courtesy of FLPipGuide.com. Written by Michael A. Rosenberg, Esq.)
In a joint investigation, the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office uncovered an illegal insurance fraud scheme that involved a towing business with offices in Tallahassee and Thomasville.
According to an announcement by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, six employees of Auto Doctor Towing Company were arrested for filing fraudulent insurance claims for towing services.
The investigation exposed Auto Doctor’s alleged deceptive billing practices which enabled the company to essentially get paid twice for the same job. Even though customers were covered by AAA, they were told to bill both AAA and their automobile insurance company for towing and mileage charges, Atwater’s office reported.
A news story on WCTV Tallahassee said 22 victims were affected by the scheme, and eight insurance companies were swindled out of more than $3800.
Company owner Monte Ott is facing dozens of felony charges. Anthony Ragsdale, manager of the company, and employees Tina Norman, Daniel Justice, Dwayne Dupree, and Johnny Norman were also arrested as a result of the sham.
“I am proud of our investigators and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office for working together to shut down this illegal operation that’s responsible for defrauding insurance companies and consumers out of thousands of dollars,” said CFO Atwater. “Insurance fraud not only hurts businesses, it takes money from all Floridians through higher insurance costs.”
