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Florida woman accused of threatening health insurance company: ‘Delay, deny, file’

Florida woman accused of threatening health insurance company: ‘Delay, deny, file’

A Florida woman was arrested and charged this week after police say she ended a phone call with her health insurance provider with threats that mimicked wording associated with the alleged shooter of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

The incident occurred Tuesday when Briana Boston, a 42-year-old Lakeland woman, was speaking with a representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield after being told her health claim had been denied.

In an arrest affidavit obtained by ABC News, police said that near the end of the recorded conversation with the insurance provider, Boston can be heard saying, “Delay, deny, file. You are next.”

Boston’s apparent threats almost echoed the words that were engraved on bullet casings that authorities recovered from the site where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot earlier this month.

Those engraved words were “deny”, “defend” and “impeach”.

Boston’s words and the cases are both closely related to the title of a 2010 book: “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

The book was written by jurist and insurance expert Jay Feinman, professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. It explores auto insurance abuses and homeowners to “avoid paying justifiable claims,” ​​according to its summary.

Luigi Mangione is a suspect in the crime, which has catapulted the nation’s healthcare industry into the spotlight. Mangione faces second-degree murder and a number of other charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.

When Lakeland police confronted Boston about the perceived threats, she apologized and said she “used those words because it’s what’s in the news right now,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Boston told authorities he had no weapons and posed no threat, but went on to say the health care companies “deserve karma” and are “evil,” according to the document.

“Boston also said the health care companies played games and deserved the world’s karma for being evil,” police said in the affidavit.

ABC News has reached out to Blue Cross Blue Shield for comment.

Following the investigation, Boston was charged with threats to commit a mass shooting or act of terrorism and booked into a Polk County jail, according to police.

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