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Tampa, FL, Med Clinic Owner Charged with Staging Crashes and $970,000 in False Claims The owner of a Tampa, FL, medical clinic has been charged in a scheme that staged auto accidents then submitted more than $970,000 in falsified insurance claims, Florida authorities said.
Angela Ippolito Duncan, owner of Ybor Medical and Wellness Center, was booked into the Hillsborough County jail on July 6 on multiple fraud and racketeering charges. Florida’s chief financial officer said an investigation found Duncan helped orchestrate staged crashes near the clinic, then coached participants on what to say to insurance adjusters. Duncan, 72, also had crash participants sign some 30 medical forms for treatments that never hapSee Staging Crashes, Page 29
A Deeper Look at Crash Champions’ Merger with Service King by David Roberts, managing director of Focus Advisors
After months of speculation about the future of Service King, a blockbuster merger with Crash Champi-
ons was announced to Service King managers on July 15. The two consolidators will merge and create a 550+ shop operation with upwards of $2 billion in annualized sales.
See Crash Champions to Mergee, Page 26
Vol. 13 / Issue 6 / August 2022
Georgia’s Gas Tax Holiday Extended Through Mid-August by T.A. DeFeo, The Center Square
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order to suspend the state’s excise tax on motor fuel sales through mid-August. The order, signed July 1, also suspends the collection of the state sales tax on locomotive fuel. The governor also renewed an executive order for Supply Chain Disruptions. Both orders run through Aug. 13. “To provide actual relief to Georgians, I am once again extending the supply chain state of emergency and suspending our state mo-
tor fuel tax,” Kemp, a Republican, said in a statement. “In addition to these actions, I am suspending the
locomotive fuel tax to help fight rising costs that are being passed on to See Gas Tax Holiday, Page 30
The World Experienced a Pandemic—and Initial Vehicle Quality Got Sick In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, initial vehicle quality notably declined, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Initial Quality Study, released June 28.
Buick was the highest-ranking brand in J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Initial Quality Study and the Buick Encore GX, shown here, ranked the highest in its segment.
The disruptions caused by the pandemic—supply chain issues, record-high vehicle prices and personnel dislocations---contributed to vehicle problems reaching a record high in the 36-year history of this benchmark study. Compared with 2021 results, the industry experienced an 11% increase in problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), which is 18 PP100 worse than last year, resulting in an industry average of 180 PP100. A lower score reflects higher vehicle quality.
General Motors bucked the trend with an improvement in initial quality that landed it in the highest rank position among automotive corporations. Among brands, Buick’s quality improved 17 PP100 year over year, vaulting it to ranking highest overall in 2022 from 12th place in 2021, while Genesis ranked highest among premium brands. Just nine of 33 ranked brands improved in vehicle quality year over year. “Given the many challenges automakers and their dealers had to face in the past year, it’s somewhat surprising that initial quality didn’t fall even more dramatically,” said David Amodeo, director of global automotive at J.D. Power. “In general, initial quality has shown steady improvement throughout the history of this study, so the decline this year is disappointing—yet understandable. Automakers continue to launch vehicles that are more and more technologically complex in an era in which there have been many shortages of critical components to support them.” See Initial Vehicle Quality, Page 18
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