Three suspects pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in May and June after investigations by Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigations Unit.
The fraud cases included a suspect from Qatar who had been on a most wanted list since 2013, a suspect in a home burglary claim with falsified items and a suspect in an auto policy purchased after a collision.
Ahmed Mesbah of Qatar, formerly from Seattle, pled guilty in King County Superior Court to two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, after an investigation by CIU. Mesbah was on Kreidler’s Insurance Fraud Most Wanted list since 2013, when he reportedly filed two claims for stolen vehicles that he had shipped to Liberia.
After having difficulties renewing his passport due to the longstanding warrant for his arrest, Mesbah contacted the King County Prosecutor’s Office to get his case resolved. On June 27, Mesbah flew back to the U.S. and pled guilty to the two charges.
Mesbah filed a motor vehicle theft claim with GEICO on April 23, 2013, claiming his 2011 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle worth $11,253 was stolen. A few months earlier, Mesbah had reported his 1998 Toyota RAV4 stolen and was paid $8,860.64. After the second theft claim, GEICO investigated further and discovered that both of Mesbah’s vehicles had been exported to Liberia in October 2012, according to investigators.
When confronted with the shipping documentation from the U.S. Customs and Homeland Security, Mesbah subsequently withdrew his claim for the stolen Honda and repaid the $8,860 he’d been paid for his fraudulent Toyota claim. GEICO referred the claims to CIU to conduct a criminal investigation.
His jail time was suspended but he was ordered to serve 24 months of probation and pay $500 in court fees.
Duy Thai pled guilty to one count of fraudulent insurance claim in May and June in King County Superior Court.
Thai, of Kent, was recently convicted after an investigation by CIU.
The Kent home where Thai lived with his parents was burglarized on Jan. 14, 2022. He handled the claim with American Family insurance and filed a claim on his parents’ behalf on Jan. 17 that stated $43,130 worth of items were stolen. He submitted various invoices and receipts as proof of ownership.
American Family issued a payment of $34,673 within a few days, and later conducted a claim review and discovered an invoice for a Prada handbag showed the item had been returned prior to the theft. American Family found several other receipts showing items returned before the burglary. The company issued a stop payment on the check and referred the claim to CIU.
Thai was ordered to serve 24 months of probation and complete 40 hours of community service.
Lesoo Vaafuti, of Pacific, pled guilty to one count of filing a fraudulent insurance claim in June in King County Superior Court.
Vaafuti was involved in a single vehicle collision on March 21, 2021, in Maple Valley, which was investigated by Maple Valley police. Four days after the collision, Vaafuti bought an auto insurance policy with Progressive for her Nissan Altima. On April 5, 2021, Vaafuti electronically submitted a damage claim to Progressive stating the collision had occurred on April 4.
Progressive denied the claim for $9,129 after discovering the loss occurred prior to the policy inception and referred it to CIU.
She received a suspended sentence for her jail time and was ordered to serve 24 months’ probation in addition to completing 80 hours of community service.
Topics Fraud Washington
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