A Philadelphia police officer, a personal injury lawyer, seven auto damage appraisers and the owner and the manager of a Philadelphia collision repair shop have been charged in an insurance fraud scheme prosecutors say netted them millions over four years.
The charges were announced this morning by District Attorney Seth Williams and Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross at a Center City news conference.
“This is not a victimless crime,” Williams said. “All Philadelphia consumers are affected.”
Among the 11 charged as a result of the 13-month undercover investigation of University Collision Centers by the DA’s Insurance Fraud Unit were:
- Philadelphia police officer Gary Cottrell, 44, a 15-year veteran of the force assigned to the 14th District in Germantown and Chestnut Hill. Cottrell allegedly was a “wreck chaser” who traveled throughout the city in uniform to direct accident victims to Univerity Collision.
- Michael Wolf, 52, of Phoenixville, Chester County, a lawyer with a Philadelphia practice. Wolf allegedly advised University Collision’s owner in the fraud and also filed several phony personal injury claims with them.
- Edward Hildebrandt, 41, of Philadelphia, owner of University Collision, with operations in Gray’s Ferry and Manayunk.
- David Coleman, 41, of Chadds Ford, Chester County, identified as manager of University Collision.
The seven vehicle damage appraisers included four from Philadelphia, two from Cherry Hill and one from Mullica Hill in South Jersey.
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