All in the Family

Following an 18-month investigation, CDI fraud investigators arrested a Sacramento family and a family friend on 19 counts of insurance fraud. Bobby Gene Bass, 67; Lavern Dobbins-Bass, 57; Bobby Jason Bass, 20; and Christian Hearst, 31; were all arrested. In addition, Norman Bass, 35, was arrested while currently serving a prison sentence for a previous unrelated crime; and Shawn Lydell Bass, 28, is also wanted by CDI investigators and is considered a fugitive.

According to investigators, on Dec. 16, 1998, Bobby and Lavern were involved in a minor traffic accident with another vehicle on Watt Avenue in Sacramento. Two individuals waiting for a bus at a light rail station witnessed the accident. Investigators discovered that Allstate Insurance Company received a claim for the accident for soft tissue injuries filed by Bobby Bass, Lavern Dobbins-Bass, Bobby Jason Bass and Christian Hearst.

Bobby Gene Bass told Allstate that he had never been involved in any other auto accidents prior to the Dec. 16 accident, but investigators found that he and Lavern had been involved in prior auto accidents on June 25, 1997; Aug. 21, 1998; and April 13, 2000. Investigators determined that Bobby Gene and Lavern were the only occupants in their vehicle at the time of these accidents.

As a result of their fraudulent claims, Allstate and State Farm Insurance Companies paid the Bass family $15,678 in medical benefits to which they were not entitled.