Tulsa Man Who Assaulted Insurance Adjuster Gets Life Sentence

A Tulsa, Okla., man who filed a bogus insurance claim and assaulted an insurance adjuster has been sentenced to life in prison, the state insurance department announced.

Prentice E. Ponds II, 43, was on parole at the time of the crime. He has a long criminal history with multiple felony convictions, the department said.

“Oklahoma is a safer place with this man behind bars,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “While it’s common for insurance fraud to be committed in conjunction with other crimes, we don’t typically see violence like this. But it does happen. I am extremely proud of the work done by our Anti-Fraud Unit to get this violent criminal off the streets. I also want to thank the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office for its excellent work on this case.”

Ponds was arrested in August 2015 after an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Unit. Investigators found that Ponds filed a fraudulent insurance claim on a 2014 Chevy Camaro with preexisting damage he’d purchased off eBay.

When an insurance adjuster went to Ponds’ home to question him about the claim, Ponds became angry. He attacked the adjuster and took his file and audio recorder. The insurance adjuster was later treated for a head laceration and broken ribs.

The insurance adjuster worked for Repwest Insurance Co. Robert Pirmann, vice president at Repwest Insurance, commended “the Oklahoma Department of Insurance, the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement for their diligent efforts in this case. The violence exhibited against our insurance investigator should never be tolerated.”

A Tulsa County jury recently convicted Ponds of robbery and insurance fraud. He was sentenced to life for the robbery conviction and 25 years for the insurance fraud conviction. Ponds’ prior felony convictions include assault and battery, robbery and burglary.

Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department

Topics Fraud Oklahoma