A Southern California woman was arrested in her home in Palmdale, Calif. and booked at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station following an investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Fraud Division.
Ruth Ekong, 61, had her bail set at $437,790, and a warrant has also been issued for the arrest of Ruth Ekong’s husband, Lancaster cardiologist, Dr. Enobong Ekong, on four felony charges, which include insurance fraud. If the Ekong’s are convicted, each could face up to five years in state prison and/or pay fines up to $50,000.
According to investigators, in June of last year, Ruth and Dr. Enobong Ekong allegedly filed a claim with SAFECO Insurance for vandalism to the interior of their house.
The value of the claim initially totaled $570,000 and was later dropped to $294,922. An investigation revealed that Ruth Ekong allegedly was responsible for the damage. The investigation also uncovered that both the Ekong’s allegedly participated in the pursuit of this claim, realizing it was fraudulent.
At the time of the investigation of the Ekong vandalism claim, a prior claim with SAFECO filed by Ruth Ekong in July of 1999 was reviewed and discovered to be suspicious. Ruth Ekong claimed a rug and tapestry purchased in 1975 were destroyed. SAFECO valued the loss of the rug and tapestry at $69,280 and paid the Ekong’s that total. After getting the payment, Ruth Ekong hired an appraiser to value the rug and tapestry.
According to the appraisals later submitted by Ruth Ekong, the total appraised value of the items was $295,000. Safeco relied on these appraisals and subsequently finalized the claim for an added $165,690.
The current investigation of the claim determined that the appraiser hired by Ruth Ekong was in fact her sister.
Investigators report that the sister has no credentials in the appraisal of such items. CDI investigators stated that Ruth Ekong led SAFECO to believe someone had referred her to the “appraiser” and never provided the true relationship between herself and her sister.
Investigators added that a variety of searches for information on the businesses where the items were allegedly purchased have met with negative results. New York City government agency officials have verified that the address of the auction house where the rug and tapestry were allegedly purchased does not exist and that the locale is actually a city park that has existed dating back to 1934.
Topics Fraud
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