‘Fugitive Godfather of white-collar crime family’ William Mize accused of staging car crashes in $6M fraud case is FINALLY captured in Florida four years after going on the run

A fugitive accused of orchestrating car crashes in a multi-million dollar fraud case across five states has finally been captured in Florida after four years on the run.

William Mize, 62, was arrested Tuesday at a Jacksonville marina after being indicted in 2018 on fraud charges that led to insurance companies paying out more than $6 million.

The charges against him include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit both wire and mail fraud, the US Marshals said in a released statement.

Mize and 21 others, including his wife Sandra Victoria Talento, were indicted in 2018. However, he disappeared in 2019, halting his legal proceedings.

“This man sees himself as the godfather of a family of white-collar criminals,” a deputy marshal said 8 News Now in 2021. ‘Everyone must obey him or there will be consequences.’

Mize, Talento and their family members were part of a long-running scheme between 2006 and 2017, staging car crashes in five states for insurance payouts, U.S. Marshals said.

The group staged more than 33 car incidents to collect insurance payouts and faked injuries and symptoms to provide as much medical care as possible, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in 2019.

Others involved in the “white-collar crime family” include Mize’s cousin Ryan Park and Park’s wife Kimberly Rita Boito, who were sentenced to 19 months and 10 months respectively.

Talento received the harshest sentence – 70 months – after she used different names to play victims in staged accidents and pleaded guilty to charges including mail fraud, wire fraud and health care fraud.

The US Marshals Service offered a $2,500 reward, which was increased to $10,000, for information leading to his arrest after he went on the run in 2019.

Mize was later seen entering and exiting a liquor store in Henderson, Nevada. The fugitive, known for his lavish lifestyle and boating hobby, appeared dressed as if he was ready for a boat trip.

“Mize remained on the run until U.S. Marshals recently located a lead indicating he was still alive on the water, eventually locating and arresting him at a marina in Jacksonville, Florida,” the U.S. Marshals said.

He now faces charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit both wire and mail fraud.

“William Mize was a fugitive who believed that because he had financial resources he could avoid arrest and ignore the rule of law,” said Craig Thayer, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington.

‘As it turns out, this is clearly not the case. No matter what resources they have or where they flee to, U.S. Marshals will never stop pursuing a fugitive until they are brought to justice.”

Mize was the ‘artist of injury’ in staged accidents involving his wife, children and nephew, revealed by a New York Magazine’s investigation last year.

He planned months in advance by purchasing a used luxury car for one of his co-conspirators and secured insurance with high limits: a payout of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident.

He used a razor or box cutter to cut the actors’ hairlines so that real blood would flow and splatter convincingly in strategic places.

“That was his biggest thing,” said his cousin Park. ‘Blood. Blood. Blood.’

In addition to this gruesome method, he even went so far as to collect the henchmen’s urine and pour it on their clothing, recreating the scene as if they had lost consciousness during these “accidents.”

Most of these staged incidents took place at night, when there were no witnesses or surveillance cameras.

After being sent to the hospital, actors claimed they had insurance but didn’t have their membership cards handy. They usually came back to pay their bills in cash at a discount.

Mize would pose under a false name as a representative of the victim to the insurers of those responsible for the accident.

He would reach a settlement with the at-fault insurance company, seemingly saving the company from a possible lawsuit.

Sometimes he added claims of lost income and property damage and changed the bills to higher bills with scissors and photocopiers.

“I think it was the hustle, the power, the control,” Park told the outlet. “I think maybe he’s after the fact that there are billion-dollar companies here that he’s just ignoring.”

Mize reportedly called himself Robin Hood, taking money from insurers and sharing the profits with “the poor.”

The considerable fortune and larger family clan led to a wider range of staged accidents until 2018, including injuries on boats and stair falls.

The FBI obtained a search warrant in May 2018 and a federal grand jury indicted Mize and 21 accomplices on a total of 101 counts of money laundering and fraud.

Mize pleaded not guilty to 87 charges in 2019 before the court released him on an unsecured bond without location monitoring.

He never returned and was on the run for four years.

“The little godfather he pretended to be?” Ryan said. ‘He wasn’t a godfather. He betrayed everyone.”

Talento, who was sentenced to almost six years, filed a divorce case against Mize in September 2021.