Nov 2, 2018

FTC says Florida operation made $100M from fake insurance

A Florida-based operation made millions of dollars by claiming to sell comprehensive health insurance plans that were actually bare-bones discount programs with almost no coverage, according a complaint from the Federal Trade Commission.

By the numbers: The FTC says the alleged scam pulled in more than $100 million and “left tens of thousands of people uninsured.”

Details: The FTC is going after Simple Health Plans LLC, its owner, and a network of five other companies.

  • That operation opened websites with names like TrumpCareQuotes.com, purporting to sell comprehensive insurance that covered pre-existing conditions and prescription drugs, according to the FTC. It charged premiums as high as $500 per month.
  • But, according to the FTC’s complaint, customers were actually getting a simple discount program that didn’t cover drugs or pre-existing conditions and would only pay out a maximum of $3,200 in benefits per year.

A federal judge has temporarily halted all operations of Simple Health Plans and its related companies. The court also ordered the seizure of more than $100,000 in jewelry and three luxury cars — a Lamborghini, a Range Rover and a Rolls-Royce — it says were purchased with the companies’ money.

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