Federal authorities have charged a Silver Spring lawyer and three other people in what was called a scheme to recruit auto accident victims into faking their injuries to collect inflated insurance claims. As part of the investigation into widespread and long-running conspiracy to defraud auto insurance agencies, the FBI and the D.C. police conducted an undercover operation and dropped a false crash report into the police department’s system for traffic accident reports, documents said. A special agent posed as the driver who had been rear-ended. Court records offer the following account:
A day after the fake report was put in the system, the undercover agent received a call from Alba Bustamante, who said he obtained the accident report and referred him to Ryan A. Lahuti, a personal injury lawyer with offices in Silver Spring and Rockville.
When the driver explained that he was not injured, Bustamante told him “it didn’t matter,” Lahuti worked directly with a chiropractor in Falls Church, documents said. She explained that he just needed to give the chiropractor Lahuti’s business card and tell the chiropractor that his back and neck hurt. The undercover agent could “pocket” $4,000 or $5,000, she said.
“Why not take advantage?” Bustamante reportedly said.
Bustamante drove the undercover agent to the chiropractor’s office. The undercover agent explained to the chiropractor that he felt no pain, no dizziness and did not suffer from an headaches or loss of sleep.
The chiropractor said the agent’s back was out of alignment and he could get treated and have it paid for with the accident insurance.
“You should take advantage of the situation and just get treated from the accident; get taken care of because I don’t know if [the injuries were] pre-existing or not,” the chiropractor was recorded as having said.
Later, Lahuti’s assistant, Nancy Yaneth Reyes, told the undercover agent that he needed to get 25 visits with the therapist to get the maximum amount of insurance money.
The law office submitted the chiropractor’s report to insurance company and demanded $8,000. The company settled for $2,000. Lahuti presented the undercover agent with a check for a $800.
Court documents also alleged that Lahuti falsified his claims for his own injuries in a biking accident. He said the crash left him totally incapacitated and listed dates of his treatments, when court records show he and his wife were out of the country, documents said.
Charged with wire fraud and health care fraud were Bustamante and Kenneth Carlton Williams. Lahuti and Reyes was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
