Discomfort discrepancies

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Just prior to nine people being arrested and accused of faking injuries following a minor SugarHouse trolley accident, eight others, who allegedly committed a similar scheme in 2009, were apprehended.

Kitt Smith	Faith Rowley

No one reported injuries immediately after the minor accident involving a SEPTA bus, however, those allegedly harmed obtained the same lawyer to file personal injury claims.

A Loomis Armored vehicle pulling away from the curb slightly swiped a stationary SEPTA Route 21 bus at 15th and Walnut streets Dec. 23, ’09, according to the District Attorney’s Office Oct. 11 press release. The bus’ left mirror received a scratch and the other car was not damaged.

Lorraine D. Huff, 45, and Malik J. Smith, 21, both of North Philly, allegedly were the only ones out of eight that were bus passengers at the time of the incident, according to the release. Eric Lovett, 46, of North Philly, is believed to have been outside of the bus at the time of the accident, but still requested an incident card from the bus driver and recruited five others, who were either on the street at the time of the incident or found in his neighborhood afterward, to join him in filing lawsuits against SEPTA for monetary compensation. The other alleged offenders included Avis J. Jackson, 56, of the 1200 block of South 31st Street; Faith Rowley, 46, of the 1200 block of South 31st Street; Kitt C. Smith, 48, of the 1500 block of South Stillman Street; Arthur J. Whaley, 55, of Northeast Philly; and Stephanie Williams, 36, of North Philly.

The eight alleged co-conspirators were treated at the Center City Medical Center for injuries, such as neck and back pain, resulting in about $80,000 in medical bills, according to the release.

Their attorney also filed claims against Brink’s, a Virginia-based security corporation, mistakenly thinking that company owned Loomis, a Texas-based money handling business, according to the release. Even after learning of the error, the lawyer allegedly continued to pursue legal action against Brink’s, which had to defend itself, according to the release.

SEPTA’s director of claims contacted the District Attorney’s Office’s Insurance Fraud Unit upon receiving the claims in April. Surveillance video from four different views confirmed six of the passengers were not on the bus and the other two were not harmed as indicated, according to the release.

The eight alleged offenders were arrested between Sept. 20 and 27 and charged with attempted theft by deception, criminal conspiracy insurance fraud and unsworn falsification, according to court records. Huff, Rowley and Whaley also were charged with perjury based on their false testimony that was given under oath. All were released on their own recognizance except for Huff and Malik J. Smith, who posted 10 percent of their $15,000 bail, and Lovett, who had not posted his $20,000 bail as of press time.

Contact Managing Editor Amanda L. Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.

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