NU Online News Service, Oct. 07, 11:50 a.m.EDT

Three Allstate adjusters and two State Farm appraisers inFlorida were arrested and charged with racketeering and grand theftauto for their roles in auto insurance fraud schemes.

State Attorney for Miami-Dade County Katherine Fernandez Rundlesaid the arrests were the result of an investigation dubbed,"Operation Crash and Bash for Cash."

Allstate adjusters Eduardo Javier Quinonez, Roy Stella and RomanA. Hernandez were charged with violations of the RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organizations Act as well as multiple countsof third-degree grand theft auto.

State Farm appraisers Jeremazine Kirkland and Julio Ravelo facesimilar charges, according to authorities.

Affidavits said the arrests, which took place late last month,stem from a previous investigation by the Hialeah Police Auto TheftUnit, Miami-Dade Auto Theft Task Force and National Insurance CrimeBureau (NICB). Authorities said an owner of an auto body shopprovided them with information and wore a recording device, whichled to the arrests of the adjusters and appraisers.

The group of insurance employees allegedly conspired with JoseDiaz, owner of High Performance Auto Services, Inc., to make falseclaims totaling about $5 million, authorities said.

Authorities said the adjusters and appraisers would allegedlyinflate damage and labor claims at the repair center. Theconversations with Mr. Diaz were recorded, according to the arrestaffidavits.

Ironically, most of the men arrested allegedly expressed fearthey were being monitored by their employers, or that they werefalling for a set-up, according to the arrest affidavits.

At one point Mr. Ravelo allegedly told Mr. Diaz to get insidehis State Farm vehicle because "they could be watching him." Laterhe allegedly told Mr. Diaz to be careful because "the insuranceindustry is watching everybody."

The NICB earlier this year said the number of suspicious autoaccidents that were staged or deliberately caused in Florida hasincreased 58 percent from 2008 to 2009 in an attempt by criminalsto take advantage of the state's no-fault auto accident coverage.The fraud was known to be present in South Florida but the study byNICB showed more attempts of the stage-accident fraud in Tampa,Fla.

Recently in Florida, the Hillsborough County Sherriff's Office,with the help of the NICB, charged 10 people with racketeering.Authorities said employees at the Medical Rehab Choice, LLC, inTampa were allegedly recruiting people to take part in stagedaccidents.