Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998 | 5:36 a.m.
RENO, Nev. -- Insurance fraud inspectors and FBI agents raided a health club Wednesday, but remained mum on the nature of the case they described only as a "very complex and ongoing investigation."
FBI agents served search warrants on the European Fitness Center.
A half-dozen state and federal law enforcement officers blocked the entrances to the health club throughout the day, turning away members.
Evidence submitted to court to obtain the search warrants at the club are sealed under a court order and no other details were being released, FBI Special Agent Jerry Hill of Las Vegas said.
No arrests have been made, he said.
"This is a very complex and ongoing investigation," the FBI said in a statement.
Repeated telephone calls to the European Fitness Center went unanswered Wednesday.
The coed fitness center and adjoining "accident and rehabilitation center" is located south of downtown on South Virginia Street next to the Peppermill Hotel and Casino.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Nevada Attorney General's Office also are participating in the "long-term multi-agency investigation," the FBI said.
"It involves sealed search warrants and an ongoing investigation so we can't comment at all," said Bob Harmon, a spokesman for state Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa.
FBI agents began searching the fitness center about 10 a.m. and continued the search into the afternoon.
"We will return the building to the management personnel when we are done," Hill said. He said he couldn't comment on the number of agents involved in the search or the overall investigation.
"It's so sensitive we can't say anything more," he said.
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