Oklahoma’s new Republican insurance commissioner and top prosecutor say they’re revamping how insurance fraud is investigated and prosecuted in the state.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt and Insurance Commissioner John Doak said the two agencies are increasing their level of cooperation and are working to streamline the process.
The Insurance Department intends to focus on higher-level fraud and other insurance crimes committed by agents and company executives that costs Oklahoma’s ratepayers millions of dollars annually. The AG’s office will expand prosecutions and investigations of claimant fraud.
“I want to make Oklahoma a dangerous place to be an insurance criminal,” Doak said in an announcement released by the Attorney General’s Office. “If you are an agent or a company executive who is violating the trust of Oklahoma’s insurance consumers and the laws of this state, you can expect to be investigated and prosecuted by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and the Attorney General’s Office.”
Pruitt General has hired former prosecutor Vincent Antonioli to head the Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Fraud Unit, and plans to hire additional investigators and prosecutors to begin vigorously pursuing and prosecuting claimant fraud in workers’ compensation and insurance at large.
Michael Copeland has joined the Oklahoma Insurance Department as a fraud attorney. Copeland previously served as an assistant attorney general and later as special prosecutor for the Republic of Palau, a former United States Protectorate.
“We are confident our plan will result in increased prosecutions of high-level fraud committed by a few bad actors in the industry and reduce everyday fraudulent claims that are driving up the cost of insurance and doing business in our state,” Pruitt said.
In January, Doak announced that he planned to lay off six of the insurance department’s nine fraud investigators. He said the cuts will save $323,000 per year and will enable the office to focus on fraud allegedly committed by insurance companies.
The insurance department’s purpose should be protecting consumers, Doak said at the time, and insurance companies should not rely on the state to investigate claims by its policyholders.
Associated Press reports contributed to this story.
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