Six charged in alleged auto insurance fraud

Six more suspects have been arrested in a widening investigation of automobile insurance fraud in South Florida that involves at least $23 million, according to court records unsealed Wednesday.

The new federal charges were filed against three clinic owners, an attorney and two chiropractors from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, records show. The investigation is linked to state charges that were filed against five attorneys last month.

Felix Filenger, 41, of Sunny Isles; Andrew Rubinstein, 48, of Miami; and Olga Spivak, 59, of Hollywood, were charged with racketeering and mail fraud conspiracies, wire fraud, health care fraud, and making false statements.

Richard Yonover, 54, of Boca Raton; Jason Dalley, 66, of Lake Worth; and Linda Varisco, 55, of Coral Springs, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and health care fraud.

According to court records, Filenger, Rubinstein and Yonover operated clinics in Florida; Dalley is an attorney who practices in Delray Beach; and Spivak and Varisco are chiropractors.

Filenger, Rubinstein and Spivak appeared briefly Wednesday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. They will remain jailed at least until court hearings early next week.

Investigators say the case involved a dozen chiropractic clinics, in South and Central Florida, that were used to commit automobile insurance fraud.

Dalley, the attorney, is accused of paying more than $1 million to illegally solicit clients and referring them to the clinics, authorities said.

Filenger and Rubinstein paid illegal kickbacks ranging from $500 to $2,100 to tow truck company employees and other people who solicited accident victims to seek unnecessary “treatment” at the clinics, according to the charges.

Filenger and Rubinstein told their employees to falsify the pain levels reported by patients so they could bill the maximum $10,000 worth of personal injury protection. The treatments included costly and invasive nerve tests, investigators said.

Prosecutors said the accident victims were convinced to visit the clinics at least 30 times, in order to inflate the billing.

“Based upon instructions from Filenger and Rubinstein, the … chiropractic clinics would treat the patients based solely on a profit motive and without regard for patient health,” prosecutors said.

If convicted, Filenger and Rubinstein face a maximum punishment of 80 years in federal prison, fines and would have to pay restitution. Spivak would face a maximum of 70 years imprisonment and fines. And Yanover, Dalley and Varisco face a maximum term of five years imprisonment and fines.