So I sat outside this CrossFit place in Boca at 6 AM last month, drinking gas station coffee that tastes like motor oil. Waiting for this guy who’s supposedly so hurt from work that he can barely get out of bed.
Insurance company’s been paying him workers comp for eight months. Back injury, can’t lift anything, needs help getting dressed. You know the drill.
Guy walks out, pops his trunk, pulls out a 45-pound weight plate like it’s nothing. Then deadlifts for an hour straight.
$200,000 in fake claims. Gone. That’s what this job is really about.
People Think Insurance Companies Are Stupid
They’re not. They just don’t have time to follow every person around with a camera. That’s where we come in.
Been doing this 12+ years. Started after working security, figured out I was good at noticing when people were full of crap. Turns out that’s a marketable skill.
Florida’s a gold mine for insurance fraud. Hurricanes, tourists, lawyers advertising on every billboard. Plus people think because there’s so much money flowing around, nobody will notice a few fake claims.
What We Actually Do All Day
Forget CSI or whatever. Most of this job is boring as hell. Sitting in cars, taking pictures of people doing normal stuff that contradicts what they told their insurance company.
Surveillance – Following people around, documenting what they do when they think nobody’s watching. Woman claims she can’t bend over to tie her shoes? Let’s see her play 18 holes of golf.
Background stuff – Checking if their story makes sense. Guy buying boats and ATVs while claiming he’s too broke to work? Math doesn’t add up.
Reading medical records – Hours of doctor notes, trying to spot lies. People forget what they told different doctors.
Talking to witnesses – Sometimes. Most people don’t want to get involved, but occasionally someone saw what really happened.
Going to accident scenes – Checking if the story matches reality. “I slipped on a wet floor” gets interesting when there’s no plumbing anywhere near where they fell.
The Stupid Stuff People Do
Social media. Jesus, the social media. People claiming disability then posting workout videos on Instagram. Or vacation photos when they’re supposed to be too depressed to leave the house.
Had this one guy collecting workers comp for a “bad back.” Posted a video of himself moving his entire household to a new apartment. By himself. With a hand truck.
Working other jobs. This is big with workers comp fraud. Can’t work for their regular employer because of “injury,” but somehow they can do construction work for cash on weekends.
Lying to different doctors. Tell one doctor the pain is in your lower back, tell another it’s your neck. We read all the records. Inconsistencies jump out.
Getting too comfortable. Most people keep up the act for a few weeks, then figure nobody’s watching and go back to normal life. That’s when we get them.
Florida’s Special Brand of Crazy
Hurricane fraud is insane here. Storm hits, suddenly every roof leak and foundation crack happened during the hurricane. Even if the “damage” was obviously there for years.
Auto accident staging. Miami’s famous for this. People cause accidents on purpose, claim injuries, collect from insurance. Sometimes the same people over and over.
Pill mill leftovers. We cleaned up the prescription mills, but now it’s fake medical clinics billing for services they never provided.
Tourist targeting. Slip and fall in a hotel? That’s a lottery ticket for some people. Especially if they’re from out of state and think they can disappear.
Real Cases From My Files
Roofer in Fort Lauderdale – Said he fell off a ladder, couldn’t do physical work anymore. Neighbor called him in because she was tired of watching him run a roofing business out of his garage every weekend. Eight hours of video. Case closed.
Woman in Miami – Claimed she hurt her back in a grocery store slip. We filmed her at a salsa competition. Not just dancing – she won second place in the advanced division.
Construction guy in Orlando – “Permanent disability” from lifting heavy materials. Found him competing in strongman contests under a different name. His deadlift was 450 pounds.
Car accident in Jacksonville – Driver said the crash gave him memory problems and couldn’t work. Turns out he was managing a fantasy football league with 200+ people. Lot of details to remember for someone with brain damage.
What Tips Us Off
Insurance companies don’t call us randomly. Usually something smells off:
- Person files claim right before getting fired
- “Accident” happened with no witnesses
- Takes forever to report the injury
- Won’t see company doctors, only specific ones
- Living way better than someone on disability should
- Has a history of claims or lawsuits
- Story keeps changing
The Tech We Use
Hidden cameras – Not James Bond stuff. More like a coffee cup with a camera in it or glasses with tiny lenses.
GPS tracking – When it’s legal. Gotta be careful with privacy laws.
Database searches – Background checks, social media monitoring, property records.
Medical software – Helps us spot patterns in treatment that don’t make sense.
Had one case where medical software flagged that a guy was getting treated for the same “injury” at four different clinics. Using slightly different names at each one.
Why This Isn’t Just About Insurance Companies
Look, I get it. Nobody feels sorry for insurance companies. But fraud screws everyone.
Your car insurance goes up because people are staging accidents. Your workers comp premiums are higher because someone’s faking back injuries. Real injured people get hassled because there’s so much fraud.
Plus, people who actually get hurt deserve help. Fraudsters make it harder for legitimate claims to get processed.
What It Costs and What It’s Worth
Private investigation services runs $75-150 an hour depending on what you need. Typical fraud case might cost $8,000-12,000 to investigate properly.
Sounds like a lot until you realize what it saves. Workers comp fraud can cost hundreds of thousands in lifetime payments. Auto fraud might be $50,000+ in medical claims.
One case I worked, guy was collecting $4,000 a month in disability payments. Had been for two years, claiming permanent injury. We documented him working full-time as a landscaper. Saved the insurance company over $300,000.
Investigation cost them $9,000. Pretty good deal.
The Legal Stuff
Can’t just do whatever we want. Everything has to be legal or it doesn’t matter in court.
Can follow people in public. Streets, stores, restaurants, gyms. Can’t go on private property without permission.
Can’t hack computers or social media accounts. Has to be publicly available information.
Can’t impersonate cops or doctors or anyone else.
Video evidence has to be obtained legally or judges throw it out.
Chain of custody matters. Have to document where evidence came from and who handled it.
When Insurance Companies Should Call Us
Earlier the better. Most companies try to handle things internally first, which is fine, but by the time they call us they’ve already paid out thousands.
Workers comp – When someone’s been collecting for months and medical progress doesn’t match claimed disability.
Auto claims – When the accident story doesn’t make sense or injuries seem way out of proportion to impact.
Property damage – When repair estimates seem crazy high or timeline doesn’t match storm dates.
Medical billing – When treatment patterns suggest unnecessary procedures or fake services.
We Work All Over Florida
USA Security & Protection Group LLC handles insurance fraud cases statewide: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Weston, Plantation, Port Saint Lucie, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Fort Myers.
Also do background checks, surveillance, asset searches for insurance companies and lawyers dealing with suspicious claims.
The Reality
Most insurance fraud isn’t sophisticated. It’s just people who think they’re smarter than they are, or that nobody’s paying attention.
We pay attention. That’s literally the job.
Some claims are legitimate. People really do get hurt, accidents really happen, and they deserve compensation. But when someone’s running a scam, we document it with evidence that holds up in court.
Call us at (954) 477-1088 or email USACURITYPROGROUPLLC@GMAIL.COM if you’re dealing with suspicious claims.
We’ll tell you straight up whether investigation makes sense. Some cases aren’t worth the cost, others save six figures in fraudulent payouts.
After doing this for 12+ years, I can usually tell within the first phone call whether something’s worth investigating. Not psychic, just experienced.
