LOUISIANA AGENT ARRESTED:

A Mandeville, La., insurance agent was shut down and booked on charges of felony theft and insurance fraud involving misappropriation of premiums. According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, Allen James Harrison, 44, was taken into custody by the Mandeville Police Department and booked for alleged felony theft and insurance fraud involving misappropriation of insurance premiums. DOI Fraud Unit investigators served Harrison with a Cease and Desist order and a summary suspension of all his insurance licenses. Although Harrison at one time held life and health, property and casualty, auto club and agency licenses, only the L/H and P/C licenses were active at the time of the suspension. The joint operation was part of a team effort of the DOI and the Mandeville Police Department. The C&D states that Harrison allegedly kept more than $27,000 in premiums rather than sending them to the insurance company to purchase insurance for unsuspecting policyholders or prospective policyholders. The C&D prohibits him from continuing to engage in any activity relating to the business of insurance. Addresses listed for Harrison include P.O. Box 189, 267 West Causeway Approach, and 720 Willow Oak Lane—all in Mandeville. Policyholders who bought policies or conducted other insurance business, such as paying premiums, with Allen James Harrison and/or MIR Insurance Agency should call their insurance company to verify their coverage. If they have trouble reaching their insurance company, they can call the Louisiana Department of Insurance at (225) 342-5900, or, toll-free statewide, (800) 259-5300, for assistance.

OKLAHOMA SENATORS SPAR OVER WORKERS' COMPENSATION BILL:

Oklahoma Senate Republican leaders made a case in a news conference at the State Capitol that the Senate's Democrat leadership is refusing to allow a committee chairman access to a landmark workers' compensation reform bill. Meanwhile, a leading Senate Democrat says they are moving cautiously because of the complexity of the issue. According to the Oklahoma Senate Communications Division, House Bill 2619 was assigned by the Senate's Democrat leadership to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the Republicans say Judiciary Chairman Jerry Smith, R-Tulsa, has not been allowed to hear the legislation in his committee. Senate GOP Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa, said the refusal indicates intent on the part of the Democrats to kill the bill. Senate Assistant Republican Floor Leader Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow, accused the Democrats of being more interested in protecting trial lawyers than passing "pro-jobs legislation." In response to the Republican criticism, Democratic Senator Cal Hobson, the Oklahoma Senate's President Pro Tempore, stated: "The issue is a complicated one and Oklahoma has made more progress on addressing the costs associated with our system than almost any state in the nation in the last decade. I don't think I need to remind Senator Pruitt that for a number of years he championed a completely different style of reform .... Now, Senator Pruitt is championing another all-inclusive panacea for worker's compensation reform. This time, he says, he's found the silver bullet. The mere fact that this bright young lawyer is singing a different reform tune today than he did just two years ago, is evidence that the issue is complex and that we should

proceed into this arena with caution and not rush to put into law the latest, greatest cure-all de jour ...."

TEXAS FARMER CONVICTED:

United States Attorney Jane J. Boyle announced that in early March 2003 a federal jury in Wichita Falls, Texas, convicted Wendell Lynn Mints, on all 25 counts of an indictment that charged him with: one count of conspiracy to submit false claims and false statements to the United States Department of Agriculture; nine counts of making false claims to the government regarding the submission of false crop insurance claims; nine counts of making false statements to the government; and six counts of making false statements to the USDA during the course of the investigation. According to the USDA, Mints, age 65, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 125 years imprisonment, a $6.25 million fine, and restitution to be paid not only for the crop claims in Wilbarger County, but also for the crop claims in neighboring Foard County. The government presented evidence at trial that Mints operated an elaborate scheme in which he "worked the system" to falsify crop insurance loss documents and collected insurance money for thousands of acres of cotton and wheat sorghum fields he did not plant. Mints' fraud reportedly cost the government more than $500,000. USDA Farm Service Agency employees in Wilbarger County testified that inconsistent statements Mints made in documents he submitted to their office caused them to physically inspect his fields. They said they found no evidence that Mints had planted cotton or wheat grain sorghum, as he had claimed. An expert in satellite imagery testified that infrared satellite photos taken of Wilbarger County by U.S. Land Sat indicated that the condition of the fields, and crops growing on them, were inconsistent with Mints' claims that he had planted cotton and grain sorghum. Evidence was also presented that during the investigation, when Mints was asked to provide receipts indicating that he had actually purchased seed to plant the crops, he went to a seed dealer and had that seed dealer prepare false and fictitious receipts for Mints to reflect bogus sales.