Gas station owner faces fraud charges, after Palm Coast shooting

Ormond Beach Observer
News

Following a February shooting at his Palm Coast gas station, Ormond Beach's Mohammed Ansari is under investigation for insurance fraud.

BY MEGAN HOYE | STAFF WRITER

Ormond Beach's Mohammed Ansari, who owns a Mobil gas station in Palm Coast, is being charged with workers’ compensation fraud, following the February shooting of employee Zuheily Rosado.

Rosado was shot and killed as she was finishing the final minutes of the night shift at the gas station on State Road 100. Her death constitutes a workplace accident. Because of that, her family is entitled to up to $7,500 for her funeral costs, as well as death benefit compensation up to $150,000. But Rosado’s family has received nothing.

Mohammed Ansari, who owns the station, did not have workers’ compensation insurance at the time of the accident, according to a charging affidavit. The felony charge was filed March 12.

The day after Rosado was killed, Daniel Pfaff, an investigator with the Division of Worker’s Compensation Compliance, went to the Mobil station to investigate Ansari’s compensation coverage. Pfaff found that Ansari’s policy was canceled Jan. 7 for non-payment of premium.

Ansari told Pfaff that he sent a check to his insurance company Feb. 15 as payment. However, when Pfaff contacted PayChex Insurance Company, a representative said the company had not received payment in February.

Four days after Rosado's death, Ansari called the company to reinstate his coverage but was referred to the sales department for a new policy due to the amount of time since cancellation and because Ansari had a history of prior cancellation, the representative said. Ansari’s coverage was canceled Oct. 29 for lack of payment but reinstated Nov. 5.

The representative told investigators that, based on the facts of Rosado’s case, her family would have received benefits had the policy been in place.

So far, just the complaint has been filed and no hearings have been set, but the case was assigned to Circuit Judge J. David Walsh. Ansari could not be reached for comment.