Three Cuban nationals—Pavel Vidal del Toro, Oscar Mustelier Salas, and Yislan Barrera Favier—have been arrested in Florida for allegedly participating in an insurance fraud scheme that netted over $84,000 through staged car accidents and fraudulent medical treatments.
Authorities say the group orchestrated a staged collision on August 20 of last year at the intersection of South 17th Avenue and Moffett Street in Hollywood, Florida. The purpose of the crash was to fabricate injuries, allowing fraudulent claims for medical treatments through cooperating clinics.
The scam was reportedly funneled through two clinics—Ocean Health Care Solutions and Magic Healing—which helped inflate insurance claims with fabricated therapy sessions and falsified medical documents.
According to the police report cited by Telemundo 51, both clinics reported medical services that were never provided, forming a central piece of the fraudulent operation.
Key Witness Speaks Out
Legna Angie Romero Alemany, a key witness in the case, revealed she was paid $500—after being promised $1,000—to participate in the staged crash. She also told authorities that the clinics forced her to sign off on documents verifying therapy sessions that never occurred.
Based on gathered evidence, authorities have charged the suspects with:
Insurance fraud
Staging an accident
Grand theft
Some of the defendants have had their bail set at over $2,500, though the investigation remains active and further arrests may follow.
Part of a Broader Pattern
This case adds to a growing wave of insurance fraud in South Florida, often involving citizens of Cuban origin. In a similar scheme, three other Cuban individuals were arrested in Hialeah in February for operating a clinic involved in filing false insurance claims based on manipulated patient records.
The investigation into that case began after inconsistencies surfaced during a routine traffic accident report. Miami-Dade detectives later uncovered a wider network of staged crashes and fake treatments.
Authorities have since launched a pilot program to detect patterns of fraudulent collisions and closely monitor medical centers suspected of being complicit.
Insurance fraud in the U.S., especially through staged car accidents, costs the industry over $2 billion annually, burdening honest drivers with higher premiums and eroding trust in healthcare and legal systems.
