A Vero Beach man who served time for attempted murder and has been a suspect in two unsolved murder cases has pleaded not guilty to a charge of insurance fraud greater than $100,000.
Curtis Huff Jr., 50, submitted a written plea of not guilty to Circuit Court Judge Daniel Vaughn on last month. He has requested a jury trial. Huff’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 27.
Neither Huff nor his attorney, Julia Graves, could be reached for comment.
Huff was arrested for insurance fraud on Jan. 7. The Vero man, who at the time was employed by MBV Engineering, was involved in a single-car crash on Route 60, 13 miles west of I-95, on June 13, 2017, according to an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office report.
After the accident, Huff was airlifted to Lawnwood Medical Center and treated for unspecified injuries. He was released from the hospital two days later and subsequently filed a workers’ compensation claim, stating that he was working at the time of the crash, according to a court affidavit. His claim was approved by FCCI Insurance group, which paid Huff $137,070.30
Approximately one year later, Indian River County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a tip that Huff was not on the job the morning of the accident. According to the tipster, Huff was on his way to stand trial on multiple felony charges in Highland County.
After the tip came in, the story Huff told insurance investigators to secure the workers’ comp cash began to unravel.
The Florida state trooper who responded to the accident told sheriff’s investigators that Huff had told him that he was traveling to court that morning when he had a sneezing attack that caused him to lose control of his vehicle and hit a guardrail.
The state trooper told investigators that Huff made no mention of performing any work duties.
Huff’s attorney told investigators that he had been unable to reach his client regarding the trial that morning and that Huff had failed to appear in court as scheduled.
It was also discovered that Huff had appeared in court the previous day for jury selection. Investigators listened to an electronic recording, say it was clear that Huff was aware that he was to be in court for trial the following day, when the accident occurred.
Huff’s employer told investigators that Huff had asked for June 12 off without giving a reason, and that he showed up to work early in the morning on June 13, around 7:15 a.m., and informed his boss he was heading out to perform a jobsite inspection at a concrete plant.
However, investigators say records indicate Huff had already performed the inspection on June 9.
Huff has a lengthy criminal record dating back to his younger years in Michigan and Indiana. In Florida, he served 12 years of a 20-year term at Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green for a 1993 attempted murder that occurred during a botched robbery at a Kissimmee motel.
Huff is still “a strong person of interest” in the 1992 murder of Mary Ellen Wise in Vero Beach, according to Indian River County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Cassinari.
Previously, he was a suspect in another 1992 murder that took place in Osceola County, but police there say he has been ruled out in that case.
