Ohio DOI Names Smith to Lead Bid-Rigging Investigation

Intensifying an investigation into illegal sales-related insurance practices, Ohio Insurance Director Ann Womer Benjamin has named Robert Smith, a veteran white-collar crime expert, to lead the department’s investigation. Smith will report to Womer Benjamin.

“This investigation is a department priority,” Womer Benjamin said in a statement. “The more we learn as we go forward, the more troubling the findings become. Based on the level of corruption uncovered in New York, it is imperative that we clearly establish the extent of similar practices in Ohio. We have an obligation to identify and eliminate egregious and illegal behavior in the industry.”

Smith previously served 10 years with the Franklin County prosecutor’s office, seven as head of the White Collar Crime unit. He has also served 14 years as chief counsel to the Ohio Organized Crime Investigation Commission and has written the state’s money laundering and wire-tap statutes. Smith also wrote Ohio’s computer crime statutes.

The department is investigating allegations of bid-rigging and other sales-related insurance activities in Ohio, and is also working with other state insurance departments and criminal units. Bid-rigging involves the improper steering of contracts to pre-determined winners. The process may include the use of inflated or fictitious bids or prices for insurance, thereby preventing a fair and competitive bid process.

Other sales-related activities the department is investigating include possible violations of contractual duties owed by brokers to certain customers and nondisclosed commission arrangements.