Ten Philadelphia residents who thought they could hit thejackpot by being part of a staged accident with a casino charterbus were arrested yesterday on insurance fraud, conspiracy andtheft-by-deception charges, authorities said.

Besides the group taken into custody yesterday, two others whowere charged in the ongoing case are to be arrested as well, saidShonna M. Clark, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Office of theAttorney General.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, the scheme wasunearthed by an investigator for Lancer Insurance of Long Beach,N.Y., which provided coverage for a Wertz Motor Coach company busthat was hired by the scheme's perpetrators.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said in a statement that on April18, 2004, the bus–chartered to carry passengers from Philadelphiato an Atlantic City casino–was struck by a car at a cityintersection.

According to the affidavit, there were 21 passengers listed onthe police report. However, Lancer Insurance Company, Wertz'sinsurer, received insurance claims for 29 individuals.

“This alleged scheme was an elaborate attempt to scam the WertzMotor Coach and Lancer Insurance out of thousands of dollars,” Mr.Corbett said.

According to the Attorney General's office, an investigationrevealed that minutes after departing its pickup location, the buswas struck by an uninsured vehicle, but both vehicles sustainedlittle damage and were drivable from the scene.

Mr. Corbett said 20 of the 21 passengers on the bus immediatelyreported injuries and were transported by the Wertz bus to theMedical College of Pennsylvania. Lancer eventually received claimsfor all 21 passengers, plus eight individuals who were not on thebus at the time of the crash. The reported injuries were all “softtissue” related.

According to the affidavit, most of those making claims aftervisiting MCP went for treatment at clinics and chiropracticoffices, many of which billed Lancer for office visits or treatmentthat never occurred.

More than $26,000 in bogus insurance claims were paid in total,Mr. Corbett said.

According to the affidavit from Michael A. Veneziale, a specialagent with Mr. Corbett's office, the owner of the auto that whichhit the bus was a cousin of a bus passenger who sought medicaltreatment costing more than $4,400.

The agent's affidavit detailed interviews with a number of buspassengers who knew the accident was to be staged, admitted toparticipating in the scheme and signed statements to thateffect.

One rider, Anthony Vereen, according to the affidavit, said, “hewas never really injured as a result of the accident, and wasthinking he would get some money as a result of the accident and alawsuit.”

Lancer was billed $5,000 by Disston Chiropractic for 50treatments allegedly provided to Mr. Vereen from April 19, 2004 toOctober 25, 2004, the affidavit stated.