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September 7, 2004
Nineteen Charged in Fraudulent Accident Scheme
Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today the indictment of 19 Chicago area residents, who were charged with defrauding at least nine auto insurance companies out of more that one million dollars in fraudulent claims. Nine of the individuals named in the indictment were arrested today, without incident, by FBI Special Agents. The remaining defendants will be ordered to appear in court to address the allegations in the indictment.
According to the indictment, which was returned last week and unsealed today, WITOLD OSINSKI masterminded a scheme that stagged more than 50 automobile accidents between 1997 and 2001. The fraud ring was centered out of OSINSKI's business, Auto City Rebuilders, located at 5027 West Fullerton Avenue in Chicago and used late model luxury vehicles for most of the stagged accidents. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation which seeks to recover over one million dollars in fraudulently obtained funds as well as the property located at 5027 West Fullerton Avenue.
OSINSKI is alleged to have used friends, relatives and employees to stage the accidents, most of which occurred within a 2-3 mile radius of his auto repair center. The indictment also alleges that OSINSKI was assisted in this scheme by WILLIAM KUCZODYNA, who was a claims adjuster for the American Family Insurance Company.
Those charged in the indictment, some of whom were arrested earlier today, are identified as follows:
1. Witold Osinski, age 37, of 363 Vita drive, Wheeling.
2. Waclaw Rygiel, age 24, of 5534 North Marmora, Chicago.
3. Krystyna Dziewit, age 67, of 1043 North York Road, Elmhurst.
4. Michael Pawlowski, age 25, of 4121 North Spaulding, Chicago.
5. William Kurczodyna, age 50, of 21 North Marcella Road, Mt. Prospect.
6. Zofia Turkiewicz, age 56, of 9588 Terrace Place, Des Plaines.
7. Margaret Florczyk, age 35, of 640 Rebecca Lane, Bolingbrook.
8. Slawomir Szczepaniak, age 32, of 17977 Sippel Drive, Tinley Park.
9. Agata Tomal Matysik, age 40, of 816 East Old Willow Road, Prospect Heights.
10. Jerzy Matysik, age 40, of 816 East Old Willow Road, Prospect Heights.
11. Alexander Simons, age 34, of 164 Saratoga Court, Vernon Hills.
12. Serguei Kobets, age 31, of 1 Harborside Court, Northbrook.
13. Miroslaw Gorecki, age 30, of 32 Dennis Drive, Bensenville.
14. Krzyzstof Gornik, age 27, of 5029 North Harlem Avenue, Chicago.
15. Arkadiusz Truchalski, age 38, of 3010 Grove Street, Glenview.
16. Ludwik Truchalski, age 64, of 2030 North Harlem Avenue, Elmwood Park.
17. Michal Skopek, age 23, of 1126 South Wilke Road, Arlington Heights.
18. Yevgeniya Zaslavskaya, age 39, of 1448 Chase Court, Buffalo Grove.
19. Slawomir Kalota, age 37, of 1015 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream.
In announcing these charges, Mr. Kneir wishes to recognize the Special Investigations Unit of American Family Insurance Company and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) of south suburban Palos Heights, Illinois, whose assistance was invaluable to this investigation.
Those arrested will be appearing before U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan later today. If convicted of the charges against him, OSINSKI faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 95 years incarceration, while the others face a possible maximum sentence of at least 5 years incarceration.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
EDITOR's NOTE: A copy of the indictment returned in this case is available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645.
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