PLANTATION, Fla. -- Investigators arrested eight people that they say were using illegally obtained traffic accident reports in an insurance fraud scam.

Florida's Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher said some of the people involved in the scam posed as reporters to gain access to police reports in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. They pretended to work for small publications such as Impact News Weekly, South Florida Journal and Greek American Herald, according to investigators.

Those arrested Tuesday are:

Jose Manon, 60, Fort Lauderdale
Edward Phillips, 55, Margate
Courtney T. Gissendanner (aka Courtney Rhodes, aka Courtney Washington), Fort Lauderdale
Charles Raefield Rhodes, 58, Hollywood
Kathi Rodriguez, 31, Coconut Creek
Tina Vallorani Desposito, 46, Coral Springs
Thomas Vallorani, 56,Tamarac
Marcus Sanford, 66, Miami

Investigators said once the people involved in the scam had the traffic accident reports, they would go to medical clinics and auto body shops for the purpose of collecting money on fraudulent auto insurance claims.

None of the police departments involved is suspected of any wrongdoing, and all supported the investigation.

In Florida, access to traffic accident reports is restricted during the first 60 days, and those who access the information cannot use or disclose the information for the purpose of solicitation.

"This ongoing investigation indicates these individuals had no legitimate reason to possess the accident reports and that they intended to use the information to fraudulently bill insurance companies," said Gallagher. "I thank the investigators for working so hard to protect Floridians from the burden of this kind of fraud."

In the last two months, DFS investigators have arrested more than 50 individuals throughout Florida for various auto insurance fraud scams. The department's fraud division has arrested more than 900 individuals associated with $25 million in auto insurance fraud in the last five years.

Some of the people arrested Tuesday face up to 70 counts of obtaining confidential crash reports, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison for each count.

Investigators said they saw Charles Raefield Rhodes, 58, take bulk crash reports from his son, 22-year-old Courtney Gissendanner, at Rhodes' Hollywood home. Detectives said Rhodes had several women making phone calls to solicit accident victims.

The investigation is continuing and Gallagher said he expects 20 more arrests, including doctors and lawyers investigators say are involved in the scam.

Anyone with information about this case or another possible fraud scheme should call the department's Fraud Busters Hotline at 1 (800) 378-0445. A reward of up to $25,000 may be offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.