South Florida Lawyer Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison
He must also pay nearly $1.84 million in restitution.
April 17, 2018 at 11:11 AM
4 minute read
Boca Raton personal injury attorney Jason S. Dalley was sentenced to 21 months in prison Monday for his role in an insurance kick-back scheme with tow truck drivers and chiropractors.
U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas also ordered him to pay nearly $1.84 million in restitution for his role in a $23 million auto insurance fraud. Dalley has been a member of the Florida Bar since October 1995 and headed the Law Offices of Jason Steven Dalley in Boca Raton.
He faced one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and health care fraud.
The Sun-Sentinel was the first to report on the sentence.
Prosecutors charged Dalley by information, which suggested his cooperation in the investigation. They alleged he paid more than $1 million in kickbacks to tow truck drivers and others to illegally solicit accident victims for personal injury lawsuits.
Prosecutors said Dalley collaborated with two clinics: Margate Physicians and Broward Spine and Rehab. They alleged he paid tow truck drivers $2,000 to $2,500 per client, and participated in a scam requiring patients to receive multiple treatments from the clinics.
Dalley's bar record shows three disciplinary actions in the last 10 years, including allegations of payments for referrals from nonattorneys.
In February 2009, Dalley admitted “minor misconduct” over a newspaper advertisement he said a former employee had placed on his firm's behalf targeting Orlando's Vietnamese community. He claimed he did not review the ad, which used language that violated Florida Bar rules.
That ad included photographs and contact information for nonlawyers, who said Dalley's employee agreed to pay them for making referrals to the law firm. Florida Bar rules prohibit attorneys from sharing fees with nonlawyers. In his admission, Dalley agreed to pay the bar's court costs and a $1,250 administrative charge.
The incident ended with an admonishment, an agreement Dalley would attend the bar's advertising workshop, and a requirement he obtain pre-publication review and approval on all ads for one year.
Then in January 2012, a second complaint accused Dalley of taking “little or no significant action” for more than four years on a personal injury case, causing his client to lose her claim after the statute of limitations expired. In that case, Dalley proffered a conditional guilty plea for consent judgment. He got a public reprimand, administered by publication, and had to pay the bar's legal costs.
The Florida Supreme Court suspended Dalley from the bar in March 2018, months after he reached a plea deal in the criminal case.
Dalley was one of six South Florida personal injury attorneys arrested in 2017 in a multi-agency investigation that included the FBI. Also arrested were Mark Spatz of Davie, Adam Hurtig of Fort Lauderdale, Alexander Kapetan Jr. of Lighthouse Point, Vincent Pravato of Wolf and Pravato in Fort Lauderdale and Steven Slootsky of Steven E. Slootsky P.A. in Boca Raton.
Two of the attorneys reached early plea agreements and cooperated with investigators.
Slootsky was the first lawyer to commit to a plea, agreeing to plead guilty to 15 felonies in exchange for a sentence of up to five years in prison and more than $170,200 in restitution, according to the agreement filed in Broward Circuit Court.
Pravato reached a deal in November. He faced three felonies for communications fraud, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and patient brokering.
Boca Raton attorneys Marc S. Nurik and Guy P. Fronstin represented Dalley.
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