72 year-old ring leader arrested
Angela Ippolito Duncan mugshot. Courtesy, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
The owner of a Tampa medical clinic has been arrested for allegedly planning and participating in staged car accidents and then submitting more than $970,000 in claims for fake injuries to Nationwide Insurance.
The Department of Financial Services says 72 year-old Angela Ippolito Duncan, owner and operator of Ybor Medical Center, staged car crashes for the purpose of submitting fraudulent insurance claims. The investigation involved Duncan recruiting an undercover detective to participate in an intentional motor vehicle traffic crash, providing the passengers for the vehicles, and directing all the participants for treatment at Ybor Medical Center. Duncan allegedly provided the location for the intentional traffic crash and was adamant that it was near her clinic.
Once the deliberate traffic crash occurred, she allegedly coached the participants on what to say to the insurance company and had them sign approximately 30 blank medical forms for treatment that never occurred. As a result, Ybor Medical Center was responsible for billing more than $970,000 in fraudulent insurance claims. Nationwide worked with the DFS’s Division of Investigative & Forensic Services, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), and the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
Duncan was charged with Racketeering, Planning Participating & Organizing an Intentional Traffic Crash, and 45 counts of False and Fraudulent Insurance Claim. If convicted on all charges, she faces up to 30 years in prison.
The NICB website reports that fraudulent automobile accidents occur more frequently in urban areas where there is a greater volume of vehicles, and also in wealthier communities because drivers there are perceived to have better insurance companies. Criminals often target new, rental, or commercial vehicles because they tend to be well-insured. They also prey upon women driving alone and senior citizens, as they are thought to be less confrontational at accident schemes.
LMA Newsletter of 7-11-22
