Former MLB infielder Yuniesky Betancourt was among four individuals arrested in Florida and accused of staging a car accident for the purposes of committing insurance fraud.
Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest of Betancourt, as well as Abel Vera, Nancy Mercedes Pena and Maura Perez on Monday, alleging that they staged a car crash in Miami in late 2022 and falsified their documentation of the accident with police.
Betancourt, 42, played for the Mariners, Royals and Brewers in a nine-year MLB career that spanned from 2005-13.
Former MLB infielder Yuniesky Betancourt was arrested and accused of insurance fraud in Florida.
The group “had a goal of reporting the accident to the automobile insurance company, Kemper Insurance, to exploit the personal injury and protection (PIP) benefits associated with the auto policy for financial gain,” the announcement said.
An investigation conducted by the state’s Division of Investigative and Forensic Services concluded that the “accident never occurred” in the way it was reported to police and the insurance company, and that “all four individuals purportedly sought treatment and physical therapy for injuries they never sustained” as a result of the crash.
The alleged fraud to the insurance company totaled over $80,000.
“It doesn’t matter how clever you think your scheme may be, if you commit fraud in Florida, you will be caught and brought to justice,” Patronis said in a statement.
“Staging accidents is incredibly dangerous and fraud like this costs every Floridian in the form of higher auto insurance premiums. We must continue to work together to do everything we can to uncover these fraud schemes and bring these scam artists to justice.”
Betancourt is being represented by a public defender and was released on $4,500 bond, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
