Former School Bus Employee Arrested in $50K Florida Insurance Fraud Scheme

A former Miami-Dade County school bus driver was arrested for allegedly filing numerous fraudulent insurance claims and collecting approximately $50,000 from the alleged scheme, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation in which 12 other Miami-Dade School bus employees were arrested in June 2019 for defrauding Aflac Insurance Company of more than $426,000.

Shawanna Latisha Aaron is accused of filing more than 10 fraudulent insurance claims along with supporting documents for cash payment reimbursement from Trustmark and Aflac Insurance Companies for approximately $50,290 after an investigation DFS’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, Bureau of Insurance Fraud detectives. The investigation revealed that from October 2016 to July 2018, Aaron submitted medical records as well as billing documents in support of the claims to show that she and her dependents were injured, obtained medical treatments and were billed for such treatments.

During the investigation, it was determined that the claim documents were altered and fraudulent documents with no such treatments or billings. Aaron was confronted with the evidence and confessed to the fraud.

Aaron self-surrendered to detectives on Feb. 9, 2021 and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight (TGK) Correctional Center in Miami for false and fraudulent insurance claims, organized scheme to defraud, and grand theft. If convicted, she could face up to 40 years in prison. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“Fraud increases insurance rates for families across Florida and I appreciate the continued hard work of my fraud detectives to bring scam artists to justice,” Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, who oversees DFS, said in a statement on the incident.

Source: Florida Department of Financial Services

Topics Florida Fraud Education