Chiropractor, attorney, charged in fake accident scam [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Feb. 19--ANOTHER 17 PEOPLE -- for a total of 83 -- were charged today in the latest stage of a long-running federal and city investigation into a scheme to fake automobile accidents and then file false insurance claims.

The case dates back to 2007, when a tow truck driver and a now-former city police officer were indicted for soliciting people to participate in fictitious accidents.

The new indictments include charges against a chiropractor, Stephen Rios, 45, of Philadelphia, and an attorney, Glori A. Kasner, 36, of Huntingdon Valley.

Others charged today are accused of participating in the fake accidents, or fake medical treatment, between 2004 and 2007.

U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said the investigation is ongoing. So far, 58 people have pleaded guilty.

The amounts paid out by insurance companies in the alleged fraud was $167,000. The total amount paid out for fictitious accidents was $634,000, prosecutors said.

Levy said the latest defendants will be turning themselves in and will be arraigned at a later date.

Levy, the FBI, city police and the district attorney's office held a news conference to announce the charges. Janice Fedarcyk, the FBI's special agent-in-charge for Philadelphia, said insurance scams were a "high priority" for her investigators.

"The victims are not only companies . . . but honest Americans who pay their annual insurance premiums," she said.

The probe started three years ago when the FBI received a tip about an alleged health care fraud, said Agent Bryan Pacchioli. At almost the same time, city police received a tip about fake auto body repair claims, said Det. Robert DiFrancesco, who is detached to the district attorney's office.

The two scams involved the same people, they said in an interview.

Pacchioli said the participants allegedly worked within an informal network, with tow truck drivers knowing which body shops to use, and the fake accident victims learning through fellow participants "which doctors and lawyers would be open to the scheme."

Former Philadelphia Highway Patrol Officer Drexel Reid Jr., who created false police reports for the purpose of submitting fake insurance claims, has been cooperating with investigators and is due to be sentenced in May on nine counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of extortion.

A tow truck driver, Jerry Blassengale, 37, of Philadelphia, who solicited people to be involved in the accidents and received fake reports from Reid, was sentenced to seven years in prison last year.

Rios was charged with 23 counts of mail fraud for allegedly fabricating treatment records and billing for medical care he never delivered.

He operated the "Rios Chiropractic Center" near the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue. His website says, "We specialize in motor vehicle accidents." The center opened in 1997, and had a staff of six. Rios did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Kasner is accused of helping Rios obtain fraudulent civil settlements for accidents that did not occur. She did not return a call to her office.

Contact staff writer Nathan Gorenstein at 215-854-2797 or [email protected].

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