Charges Filed Against Tampa Man For Pet Insurance Fraud

TAMPA, FL — Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office prosecutors have filed six new felony fraud charges against Tampa resident Albert Adams, the former CEO of the nonprofit organization Soaring Paws.

The new charges stem from pet insurance fraud. An investigation found that Adams signed up for a pet insurance policy, which would reimburse him for his pets’ medical expenses. He then filed claims and received payment for nearly $13,000 worth of medical procedures that were never performed. The pet insurance provider discovered the deception and contacted law enforcement.

In 2018, Hillsborough prosecutors convicted Adams of 4744 Woods Landing Lane in Progress Village of defrauding those who donated to his Soaring Paws charity. The state attorney said he used donations that were intended to help fly abused animals to new homes to fund his own personal expenses.

“People who support animals have big hearts, and when you scam them, we prosecutors have long memories. Fraud against pet donors, and now fraud against pet insurers; if you refuse to learn your lesson and come up with an honest way to make a living, we’re going to hold you accountable,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said.

Investigators from the Florida chief financial officer’s office and prosecutors from the state attorney’s office collaborated on the investigation, which identified phony claims for five nonexistent procedures supposedly performed on two dogs belonging to Adams.

The state attorney's office said Adams received $12,984.98 from the pet insurance provider, Healthy Paws, between March 4 and April 8.

The charges are one count of organized fraud less than $20,000 and five counts of false statement in support of an insurance claim less than $20,000. Each charge is a third-degree felony.

Adams was on probation from his Soaring Paws fraud conviction when he committed these new crimes, according to Warren, so he also faces penalties for violation of probation. In addition, Florida law makes punishment harsher when probation is violated, so the potential sentence Adams faces for these new crimes may be made longer because of his past crimes, including the Soaring Paws convictions plus other fraud-related convictions from the years before the Soaring Paws scams.