101 Are Indicted in Massive Auto-Insurance Fraud Case

By The Associated Press

More than 100 people were indicted in what authorities say is one of the state's largest cases of auto-insurance fraud for allegedly bilking companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, officials announced Wednesday.

In the scheme, employees at a dozen San Gabriel Valley law firms would steer accident-insurance claim cases to a chiropractic clinic, prosecutors said.

The clinic then would overbill insurers by signing off on claims that inflated the number of visits for treatment, with payouts shared among clients, clinics and the firms.

Total losses were hard to estimate, but investigators said insurance companies were defrauded about $500,000 during the two- year probe.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said the defendants were "fueled by greed."

"People who make a career out of defrauding insurance companies will be exposed and will suffer the consequences," he said.

The number of defendants -- 101 in all -- made it the largest auto-insurance fraud case in Los Angeles County and one of the largest in California, authorities said.

One defendant, Jorge "JC" Yang, alone faces 117 counts.

At least 88 people have been arrested, with the rest either overseas or at large.

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