Kissimmee elementary school teacher faked being hit by car to defraud insurer, investigation finds

June 06-- Jun. 6--A teacher who claimed he was hit by a car at an Osceola County grocery store in 2016 was arrested last month, accused of faking the crash to defraud an insurance company, according to state investigators.

Lanfranco Palman, 56, of Clermont, faces three felony charges, court records show: insurance fraud, participating in a staged accident and organized scheme to defraud. He was arrested May 22 and has since been released from the Osceola County jail after posting bond.

According to the office of state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, which announced Palman's arrest Monday, he was working as an elementary school teacher in Kissimmee at the time of his arrest.

Dana Schafer, a spokeswoman for the Osceola County school district, said Palman taught at Westside K-8.

"This individual is a teacher so he does not work in the summer," Schafer said. "His status of employment is currently being reviewed by our HR Department."

The charges stem from an incident in August 2016.

Two witnesses and the driver of a vehicle at the Publix on Dyer Road said Palman "intentionally fell onto the hood" of the vehicle "when it was stopped," according to an affidavit filed in Osceola County circuit court by a state insurance fraud detective.

Palman said he had been hit by the vehicle in a police report and an insurance claim to Auto-Owners Insurance, according to the affidavit.

Palman also hired two law firms to pursue "civil action," investigators said.

According to the affidavit, Palman went to the emergency room at Osceola Regional Medical Center and also "obtained numerous chiropractic treatments" after the faked accident.

His bills totaled $15,475.80, investigators said.

If convicted, Palman faces up to 35 years in prison.

No attorney was listed for him in online court records. A phone number listed for Palman in court documents was not in service Monday afternoon.

"In 2018, there were 9,300 pedestrian crashes. An estimated 25 percent of staged accident referrals were criminally investigated," Patronis said in a statement distributed by his office. "Staged automobile accidents happen too often in Florida, and they drive up car insurance rates for honest motorists."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included a quote from Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis which misstated the percentage of pedestrian crashes in 2018 that are believed to have been staged. Approximately 25 percent of staged accident referrals to Patronis' agency were investigated criminally last year, according to a revised statement his office.

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