Raids Aimed at Cracking Fraud Ring

State investigators in Orange County Friday swooped down on a pair of homes, medical offices and a law office, seizing records of what they described as a major staged-automobile accident ring suspected of bilking at least four insurance companies of more than $5 million.

The raids, to gather evidence only and not to make arrests, were aimed at breaking up “the largest ring ever in Orange County,” said Dave Robertson, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

The CHP estimates that similar schemes have run up more than $500 million a year in false insurance claims in Southern California alone, Robertson said.

Using search warrants issued by Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom, CHP investigators seized medical and legal records from a Huntington Beach home; a house in Coto de Caza; the Medical Therapy and Care Clinic and FYA--the Physical Therapy Group Inc., both in Santa Ana; and the law office of Thomas F. Mullen in Costa Mesa, Robertson said.

Robertson said Mullen is not a suspect in the ring’s operations. “This does not involve him,” Robertson said. “It’s just that records were in his office.”

The simultaneous 10:30 a.m. raids at all five locations capped a 4-month investigation prompted by complaints from at least four insurance companies, Robertson said. He declined to name the companies or any of the people allegedly involved in the ring. He said that at least 100 people participated in filing fraudulent claims with the insurance companies.

No one at the homes or businesses could be reached by telephone Friday night.