GEICO is taking aim at a sprawling network of Florida injury clinics, alleging a more than $26 million PIP fraud operation spanning 14 locations.
The auto insurance giant filed a suit on January 22, 2026, in federal court in Miami, accusing the COR Medical Centers chain and telehealth company TeleEMC of running what it describes as a scheme to obtain money from the insurer through thousands of fraudulent Personal Injury Protection claims. The alleged scheme began no later than 2020 and has continued through the present, according to the filing.
At the center of the allegations is Zeriosha Zapata, who GEICO says owned and controlled the clinic network despite holding no health care license in Florida. The suit names Zapata alongside multiple physicians and chiropractors who allegedly served as medical directors but ceded all day-to-day decision-making and oversight regarding health care services to Zapata.
The alleged playbook was remarkably consistent, according to the filing. Patients who walked through the doors of any COR clinic reportedly received substantially similar, false diagnoses and treatment recommendations, regardless of their true individual circumstances. GEICO claims insureds involved in typically-minor automobile accidents were funneled into treatment protocols involving chiropractic services, physical therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and interventional pain management services they did not need.
In many instances, the insurer alleges, the billed services were performed by massage therapists or unlicensed and unsupervised individuals rather than qualified practitioners. Some services, according to the filing, were never performed at all.
The arrangement with TeleEMC adds another layer to the allegations. GEICO claims the COR clinics referred patients to the telehealth provider for medically unnecessary examinations, and as unlawful compensation for those referrals, TeleEMC caused insureds to be falsely diagnosed with emergency medical conditions. These diagnoses allegedly enabled the clinics to submit additional PIP billing.
The insurer contends the operation exploited the 30-day window it has under statutory and contractual obligations to process claims. The facially valid documents submitted in support of the fraudulent charges, GEICO says, were designed to cause the insurer to rely upon them.
GEICO is pursuing claims under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, along with common law fraud and unjust enrichment. The insurer is seeking compensatory damages, treble damages under RICO, and punitive damages.
No determination has been made on the merits of the case, and the defendants have yet to respond to the allegations in court.
For insurers watching from the sidelines, this case offers a window into how GEICO alleges coordinated clinic networks operate and how major carriers are fighting back through civil litigation.
