15 SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN INSURANCE FRAUD RING.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Fourteen Glendale residents and a North Hollywood woman were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of participating in an insurance fraud ring that involved cab drivers, lawyers, medical and chiropractic offices.

Search warrants were served at 18 Glendale businesses that may have participated in the ring, in which suspects filed fraudulent accident claims totaling about $500,000, said Nanci Kramer, spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force dubbed the ring ``Operation Cabbie'' because one of the suspects is a cab driver who recruited other cab drivers to participate in the scam, she said.

``This is the second major crime ring we have busted in less than six weeks,'' Kramer said. ``Los Angeles is truly problematic.''

A dozen people, including four from the San Fernando Valley, were arrested in January as part of an interstate auto insurance fraud ring that staged collisions using rental cars. That scam involved 110 staged collisions and defrauded insurers of more than $2.5 million, authorities said.

One of the largest insurance fraud rings was broken last summer, when 18 people were arrested for staging thousands of crashes costing millions of dollars over the past 10 years, officials said. In that case, businesses from Glendale, Burbank, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, and West Hollywood were served with search warrants.

Suspects in the recent case staged what is known as ``paper collisions'' throughout the Los Angeles County area and worked with law offices to file fraudulent claims with insurance companies, Kramer said.

Paper collisions never really take place, but are set up and made to look like real claims, she said.

The staged collisions date back to 2001, she said.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the average driver in Los Angeles pays $300 to make up for insurance fraud.

``Every consumer is paying for fraud,'' Kramer said.

As part of the ring, medical and chiropractic clinics allegedly provided treatment to suspected victims. Law offices involved then submitted claims to insurance companies.

Investigators would not release the names of the businesses involved or say if the suspects were related. As of Tuesday, the investigation was ongoing and could yield more arrests, Kramer said.

Those arrested in Glendale are Alexan Asadourian, 70; Ruben Asatryan, 27; Grachik Babkhayan, 41; Soghom Baghramyan, 65; Naymzar Bajhomian, 65; Varoush Eyeseian, 39; David Edward Chavez, 35; Verj Eyeseian, 35; Andre Khodagulyan, 31; David Khodagulyan, 76; Varden Khodagulyan, 40; Aram Margaryan, 29; Razmik Nazarian, 44; and Serezh Ovasapyan, 51.

Susanna Asatryan, 56, of North Hollywood also was arrested.

The suspects face multiple felony charges ranging from insurance fraud to unlawful referrals to law offices, Kramer said.

Each count of insurance fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

The Mercury and Safeco insurance companies, along with support from the National Insurance Crime Bureau and about 120 law enforcement officers, assisted in the 11-month investigation.