Workers' comp fraud alleged

NAPLES — State law enforcement officials alleged that as many as 146 employees of Naples-based Fruit Dynamics committed workers' compensation insurance fraud.

In addition, the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud says at least 27 of those employees might have stolen the identities of victims from 25 states.

The investigation into workers' compensation insurance fraud began when a former employee of the company who was seeking medical attention for a work injury admitted to using a fake identity to get a job and suggested many of his former co-workers had done the same.

The division of insurance fraud began making arrests Wednesday, but the investigation remains open and ongoing, including an investigation into who may have been creating and supplying the fraudulent documents. The individuals arrested today are being held at the Collier County Jail.

“I am proud of our investigators for following a lead that will result in dozens of workers' compensation arrests and many arrests for identity theft that have been potentially devastating for victims,” says Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, in a statement. “Any time a person commits insurance fraud it drives up the cost of insurance for everyone.”