In some cases, there is no treatment, only fake bills, Askins said. Some clinics are total shams with one goal file phony PIP claims. A convicted drug cartel felon operates one, Askins said. People who used to drive tow trucks now own medical clinics. Another plundering of injury protection coffers comes from brokers, who funnel car accident victims to diagnostic centers for X-rays and MRIs.
Brokers pay kickbacks to the players, keeping a chunk of cash for themselves.
Twenty years ago, Askins said, lawyers ran point on the fraud. But today, it's doctors, chiropractors and phony clinics that hire runners to score referrals. Runners buy stacks of auto accident reports from police legal under Florida's Sunshine Law. They then directly solicit people involved in minor car crashes to see a particular doctor or lawyer. Add to this the proliferation of accident staging rings.