May 23, 2012—Vincenzo Gurrera, owner of Collision World in Boynton Beach, Fla., was arrested Tuesday for allegedly impersonating an insurance adjuster at crash scenes to steer customers to his shop, according to local news reports.
According to the reports, from the Palm Beach Post and Insurance & Financial Advisor, authorities arrested Gurrera on four counts of transacting insurance without a license following several complaints against the shop that prompted an investigation of the business by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud.
Complaints allege that Gurrera collected crash information from an unknown source at accident scenes, the news reports said. He allegedly contacted people involved in accidents the next day by telephone, claimed to be their insurance adjuster, and gave permission for vehicle owners to release_notes their car to his shop.
Gurrera allegedly claimed to represent three insurance companies—State Farm Insurance, GEICO and Liberty Mutual—starting in August 2011. Each of those insurers provided affidavits to detectives stating that Gurrera has never worked as an insurance adjuster for their companies. The Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud confirmed that Gurrera was not a licensed insurance professional.
Gurrera was booked Tuesday in the Palm Beach County jail and released on a $12,000 bond.