Detectives arrested five South Florida personal injury attorneysaccused of participating in an insurance fraud with lucrative kickbacks.

Arrested were Vincent Pravato, 48, and Mark Spatz, 58, of Davie;Adam Hurtig, 46, of Fort Lauderdale; Alexander Kapetan, 44, ofLighthouse Point; and Steven Slootsky, 57, of Boca Raton.

Investigators say in most cases, the personal injury lawyerspaid accomplices $500 to $1,500 per client to refer "unsuspectingvehicle accident victims" to make insurance claims.

Related: New weapons in the war on fraud

Bill auto insurance companies

"The attorneys would in turn refer the accident victim to a healthcare facility in exchange for a cash kickback of $1,500 to $2,500per patient," according to a statement Thursday from the BrowardSheriff's Office. "After the patient was brokered to the healthcare facility, the facility would provide treatment and bill theauto insurance companies for claims covered by the PIPbenefits."

The alleged scam reportedly yielded more than $521,000 from May2015 to December 2016.

Perhaps the most prominent among those arrested is Kapetan, aHarvard University alumnus and founding partner of Wites &Kapetan. He faces nine counts of fraud for alleged violation of thepatient-brokering law and one count of using a two-way device tofacilitate a felony. His attorney, Eric Schwartzreich ofSchwartzreich & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, said Kapetancommitted no crime.

"These guys have been lumped together. They don't know eachother," Schwartzreich said of the five attorneys arrested. "Myclient is not charged with any solicitation. ... He's not chargedwith soliciting anyone for anything, nor does he know any of theother parties that have been arrested. He's not part of any ring,any organization."

Kapetan has continued to practice but reported his arrest onfelony charges to the Florida Bar. His attorney says the incidenthas taken a toll, and led to a 24-hour incarceration for Kapetanafter his arrest.

Related: The art of bodily injuryinvestigations

"They came and arrested them right when the storm (Irma) wascoming," Schwartzreich said. "After the governor had issued a stateof emergency ... they were all required to turn themselves in. ...In the middle of the storm, they had him arrested."

Kapetan's other attorneys are prominent ethics lawyer BrianTannebaum, special counsel to Bast Amron in Miami, and WilliamShepherd of Holland & Knight.

"We're confident he's going to be found not guilty of theseallegations," Schwartzreich said.

None of the other five attorneys charged commented on theirarrest.

Hurtig referred inquiries to his attorney, Bruce A. Zimet, whodid not respond to requests for comment.

Multiagency collaboration

Investigators, including Detectives Kristy Frederick and MikeFreeley, spent more than a year in a multiagency collaboration.Broward deputies teamed with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department,which is part of the Organized Crime Unit in the Sheriff's Office,and with the Department of Financial Services, National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Office ofStatewide Prosecution and the Broward State Attorney's Office.

The operation also led to the arrest of five other accusedaccomplices: Elvira Perchitti, 53, and James Perchitti, 61, of PortSt. Lucie; Joaquin Barreda, 39, of Plantation; Mark Eskin, 62, ofBoca Raton; and Richard Kist, 36, of Jupiter.

Charges include organized fraud, criminal solicitation andpatient brokering.

Samantha Joseph ([email protected]) is a litigationreporter for ALM Media and the DailyBusiness Review. Find her on Twitter: @SJosephWriter.