Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Michigan Woman Sentenced For Committing $15,000 in Auto Insurance Fraud
Jan 28 2022 // Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) Director Anita Fox announced that a Michigan resident who pled guilty to auto insurance fraud has been sentenced to...
California Business Owner Couple Nabbed in $4.5M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Jan 28 2022 // Wei Wen Wu, 54, and Feng Wen Lam, 49, both of Arcadia, California, were charged with 43 felony counts of insurance fraud, grand theft, and conspiracy after allegedly underreporting nearly $4.5 million in employee...
California Utility’s Criminal Probation Ending Amid Ongoing Safety Worries
Jan 25 2022 // Pacific Gas & Electric is poised to emerge from five years of criminal probation, despite worries that nation’s largest utility remains too dangerous to trust after years of devastation from wildfires ignited by...
Indiana Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Prevent Catalytic Converter Thefts
Jan 21 2022 // Indiana Rep. Jim Baird has introduced a bill to reduce catalytic converter thefts by marking identifying information on catalytic converters, addressing how the parts are purchased, and strengthening enforceability of...
Florida Senate Votes to Keep Insurers’ Fraud Reports Exempt from Open Records
Jan 21 2022 // The 2022 Florida Senate has passed its first bill that affects insurance companies, but the measure has little to do with losses, rates or litigation costs. On Wednesday, by a vote of 35-0, the chamber approved Senate Bill...
Former California Insurance Agent Sentenced in Theft and Embezzlement Scheme
Jan 21 2022 // Former insurance agent Blanca Lidia Guzman, 40, of Palmdale, California, was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday on one felony count of grand theft after pleading no contest for defrauding...
Criminal Indictments Are Major — But Not Only — Tool of U.S. Cyber Defense Agencies
Jan 20 2022 // The FBI and other federal agencies are increasingly looking to counter cyber threats through tools other than criminal indictments, the head of the bureau’s cyber division said in an interview with The Associated...
New Year’s Resolution? Experts Say For Cyber Criminals, It’s More Widespread Attacks
Jan 19 2022 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv The looming threat of increased supply chain and critical infrastructure attacks is causing both cyber experts and cyber insurers to lose sleep already in 2022, according to guests on this...
Former California Officer Pleads No Contest to Insurance Fraud
Jan 18 2022 // A retired San Jose Police officer who owns a security business pleaded no contest to insurance fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and worker exploitation and is expected to be sentenced to three years in jail,...
California Budget Aims to Tackle Climate Change, Wildfires, Crime
Jan 12 2022 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $286.4 billion budget that sets off months of budget talks with his fellow Democrats, who control the state Legislature, before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Newsom focused much...
Monsanto Pleads Guilty to Pesticide-Related Crimes in Hawaii, to Pay $12M in Fines
Jan 10 2022 // The Monsanto Co. pleaded guilty to illegally using and storing agricultural chemicals in Hawaii, and will pay $12 million in fines. Monsanto, now owned by German pharmaceutical company Bayer, agreed to plead guilty to the...
Cryptocurrency Crime Hit Record $14 Billion in 2021: Research
Jan 6 2022 // Crime involving cryptocurrencies hit an all-time high of $14 billion last year, blockchain researcher Chainalysis said on Thursday, a record that comes as regulators call for more powers over the fast-growing...
Jonesboro, Louisiana Fire Chief, Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested for Insurance Fraud
Jan 5 2022 // A Jonesboro, Louisiana fire chief and a Jackson Parish sheriff’s deputy have been arrested for insurance fraud over an alleged fraudulent vehicle crash that involved two Jonesboro Fire Department vehicles. In August...
Kentucky Adjuster Sentenced in Crop Insurance Fraud Scheme
Jan 3 2022 // An independent adjuster who helped Central Kentucky tobacco farmers file millions of dollars in fraudulent crop insurance claims is the latest member of a fraud ring to face prison time for the scheme. Timothy Douglas...
Insurers Report Jump in Catalytic Converter Thefts; New State Laws May Help
Jan 3 2022 // In the tiny town of Lawrenceville, Virginia, a van owned by Poplar Mount Baptist Church was knocked out of commission for weeks after thieves cut the catalytic converter out of its exhaust system. Several months later,...
$1 Million in Hermes Handbags Stolen from Florida Store
Dec 29 2021 // More than a dozen one-of-a-kind Hermes handbags with an estimated value of about $1 million were stolen in a smash-and-grab burglary from a boutique store in South Florida, the store owner said. The unique luxury bags were...
Florida Ringleader Sentenced After Security First Audit Uncovers Fraud
Dec 28 2021 // A Florida claims adjuster that authorities called the mastermind behind an extensive property insurance fraud scheme has been sentenced to three years in prison. Walter Malet, 32, of Orlando, was convicted of pilfering...
New York Man Charged with Insurance Fraud in Stolen Tractor Scheme
Dec 27 2021 // The New York State Police in Brunswick arrested 53-year-old Michael LePage of Glens Falls, New York, on December 17, 2021, for insurance fraud in the fourth degree, a class E felony, and making a false written statement, a...
Worcester County District Attorney Partners with Insurance Fraud Bureau
Dec 22 2021 // The Office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. in Worcester, Massachusetts is continuing its partnership with the Insurance Fraud Bureau to eliminate insurance fraud in an effort that helps reduce...
French Mining Group Eramet Identifies Potential $50.8M Financial Fraud
Dec 21 2021 // PARIS – Eramet has identified a potential 45 million euro ($50.8 million) financial fraud within its group treasury operations, the French mining company said on Tuesday. “Eramet will file a criminal complaint with...
