Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
5 Sentenced in Ohio for Insurance Fraud
Dec 12 2017 // The Ohio Department of Insurance reported that five people were recently sentenced for insurance-related crimes following investigations by the department. Clermont County/Shandell Thomas and Aaron Thomas In October,...
Guilty of Insurance Fraud, Illinois Chiropractor Gets 20-Month Prison Term
Dec 11 2017 // A suburban Chicago chiropractor has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for billing an insurance company more than $4 million for treatment that was unnecessary or never provided. Federal prosecutors said Thursday...
Texas Pilot Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud in Gulf of Mexico Crash
Dec 11 2017 // A Texas pilot who survived a 2012 Gulf of Mexico plane crash and used an iPad to record his time in the water acknowledges it was insurance-related fraud. Theodore Robert Wright III pleaded guilty on Dec. 7 in Tyler to...
FBI Keeping an Eye on Fraud in Northern California Fire Recovery
Dec 8 2017 // The FBI is joining efforts to prevent fraud related to Northern California wildfire recovery efforts. Nearly two dozen blazes ripped through the region in mid-October, destroying 8,800 structures and 245,000 acres of land....
Cyber Criminals Steal $64M of Bitcoin From Cryptocurrency Firm NiceHash
Dec 8 2017 // A Slovenian cryptocurrency mining marketplace, NiceHash, said it lost about $64 million worth of bitcoin in a hack of its payment system, the latest incident to highlight risks that uneven oversight and security pose to...
California Division of Workers’ Comp Suspends 21 Medical Providers for Fraud
Dec 5 2017 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended 21 more medical providers from participating in the state’s workers’ compensation system, bringing the total number of providers suspended...
California Brothers Nabbed in Staged Auto Accident Ring Involving 20 Others
Dec 5 2017 // A two-year investigation has netted 22 suspects in an auto fraud ring in California that cost insurers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Brothers Angel Topete, 36, and Joshua Topete, 34, both of San Martin, Calif., were...
Family of 4 Indicted for $550K Insurance Fraud Scheme in West Virginia
Dec 4 2017 // A man, his ex-wife and two sons are accused of burning down two West Virginia homes and pocketing over $550,000 in insurance claims. Windel Lester, his ex-wife Georgetta Lester, and his sons Gregory A. Lester and James...
Miami Woman Arrested Over Fraudulent Insurance Claims, Attempt to Steal $178K
Dec 1 2017 // A Florida homeowner was arrested for insurance fraud and grand theft following her attempt to file a damage claim against a new insurance policy after already receiving a $60,000 insurance payout from her former insurance...
Cargill Accountant in New York Sentenced to Five Years for $3.1M Theft
Nov 30 2017 // An accountant who admitted to stealing $3.1 million from agribusiness giant Cargill, Inc. has been sentenced to five years in prison. Diane Backis was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Albany to mail fraud and filing a...
New York Logging Company Owner Sentenced to Prison for $83K Theft
Nov 30 2017 // The former owner of an upstate New York logging company who stole more than $80,000 in workers’ compensation benefits has been sentenced to up to three years in prison. Fifty-six-year-old David Sigl, of Auburn, N.Y.,...
Another Insurance Fraud Reminder
Nov 29 2017 // Two recent stories in Insurance Journal caught my eye and gave me this topic. Florida Puts Worker’s Comp Carrier Guarantee Insurance In Receivership Florida Keys Insurance Agent Accused of Defrauding Citizens...
Florida Keys Insurance Agent Accused of Defrauding Citizens Insurance
Nov 27 2017 // A Florida insurance agent has been arrested after allegedly submitting a fraudulent insurance policy to Citizens Property Insurance Corp., according to a statement from Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis and the Florida Department...
Slew of Republican Judicial Appointments Could Bode Well for D&O Insurers
Nov 27 2017 // Directors and officers (D&O) insurance has faced major losses in recent years, due in part, to what some call a significant increase in shareholder securities class action lawsuits. But a slew of new judicial...
California Workers’ Comp Department Suspends 9 Medical Providers for Fraud
Nov 22 2017 // The Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended nine more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system, bringing the total number of providers suspended this year...
Family of 4 Indicted for $550K Insurance Fraud Scheme in West Virginia
Nov 22 2017 // A man, his ex-wife and two sons are accused of burning down two West Virginia homes and pocketing over $550,000 in insurance claims. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports 66-year-old Windel Lester, his ex-wife, 41-year-old...
New Judicial Appointments Could Help Curb Shareholder Suits, Reduce D&O Losses
Nov 20 2017 // Directors and officers (D&O) insurance has faced major losses in recent years, due in part, to what some call a significant increase in shareholder securities class action lawsuits. But a slew of new judicial...
Southern California Auto Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison in $180K Fraud Case
Nov 20 2017 // Hani Abujudeh, 55, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the reputed leader of an auto insurance fraud scheme, was sentenced to six years in state prison. Abujudeh was sentenced earlier this month for his involvement with a scheme...
Delaware Woman Faces Sentencing in $6M Fraud Case
Nov 16 2017 // Federal prosecutors say a Delaware woman charged with transferring more than $6 million from the operating account of the financial services company where she worked into her own bank accounts over several years deserves...
Georgia CPA Arrested for Falsifying Insurance Apps, Taking $11K in Benefits
Nov 16 2017 // A certified public accountant (CPA) in Georgia has been arrested and charged with insurance fraud by Special Fraud Investigators from the Georgia Department of Insurance (GADOI), according to a statement from Georgia...
