Man Submits Bogus Receipts for Hit & Run Accident

Joe Bink Wooten was arrested at his residence in Laguna Beach, Calif. and charged with three felony counts of insurance fraud.

An investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch revealed that on Oct. 15, 2000, Wooten was allegedly driving his 1990 Nissan 300 ZX through a parking lot in Costa Mesa when he was struck by another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle reportedly drove off before Wooten could obtain the license plate of the vehicle. Wooten reported the hit and run accident to the Costa Mesa Police Department and his insurance company, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company in San Diego.

Wooten's vehicle sustained approximately $4,000 in body damage. He also claimed to have suffered neck and back injuries from the collision and was treated by a local chiropractor. As part of his automobile claim with Wawanesa, Wooten submitted two bills for reimbursement from Howard's Garage in Irvine for alleged expenses he incurred. One of these bills was for a car rental in the amount of $539. The other bill was for alleged repairs done to his vehicle in the amount of $1,035.

An investigation by Wawanesa and CDI verified these two bills to be false. Wawanesa paid $1,035 before discovering the bill was a forgery. After discovering Wawanesa was investigating his automobile claim, Wooten withdrew his claim.

He faces up to five years in state prison and/or a fine up to $50,000 if convicted.

Father & Son Plead Guilty to Grand Theft

A three-year investigation by the CDI Criminal Investigations Branch's Fraud Division and Investigation Bureau led to the arrest of two Sacramento residents on one charge each of grand theft.

Charles Edward Dunbar, 66, and his son Christopher Freeman Dunbar, 43, pled guilty to the charges in Sacramento County Superior Court on Oct. 17. The pair surrendered to authorities last December.

On Nov. 25, 1998, investigators received an anonymous letter authored by a former employee of Dunbar & Associates Insurance Services. The letter indicated that Dunbar & Associates had allegedly engaged in a number of fraudulent and illegal activities, which included padding premiums, embezzlement and forgery.

On April 27, 2000, CDI investigators executed a search warrant at Dunbar & Associates and related locations. Investigators seized boxes of client files, employee computers and hard drives, bank records, copies of check ledgers, and large amounts of cash and coins.

After interviewing former employees and clients of Dunbar & Associates, supported by documentation, it was discovered that from Jan. 1994 through April 27, 2000, Charles and Christopher Dunbar allegedly committed insurance fraud by keeping insurance money (returned premiums and credits) that should have been returned to numerous clients. Charles purportedly took monies totaling $13,682 and Christopher allegedly took monies totaling $27,450, altogether totaling $41,132.

In addition, Christopher allegedly failed to place coverage for his client, "Florin Center," and converted the monies collected on Oct. 8, 1996 from MacLaughlin & Company for Walter & Dorothy Anderson, (DBA Florin Center), totaling $6,014, for the 1995/1996 policy period to an Agent Broker Fee. Christopher Dunbar allegedly supplied MacLaughlin & Company with a false Certificate of Insurance, leading the clients to believe that proper insurance coverage was in place during this policy term.

Dunbar & Associates is licensed by CDI as a fire and casualty broker/agent from Aug. 10, 1995 to Aug. 31, 2003.

Trio Charged with Auto Fraud, Conspiracy

Investigators with the CDI Organized Auto Fraud Interdiction Task Force arrested a Rio Linda, Calif. woman, along with her former common-law husband and his brother-in-law on multiple charges of auto insurance fraud and conspiracy.

On Oct. 28, 2002, Helena Marie Walker, 38, and Floyd Russell Smith, 40, were arrested at their residences, while Ricky Dale Lewis, 35, through various leads, was locat-ed and arrested at a North Sacramento business.

On April 11, 2002, the Nationwide Property and Casualty Company Special Investigations Unit contacted CDI's Fraud Division with information that Walker had reported being injured in a collision in Sacramento on Nov. 26, 2001.

Lewis, Walker's common-law husband, confessed he was the driver at the time of the collision. Lewis stated that following the collision he spoke to the other drivers and then walked away from the scene to call Walker. Walker arrived within minutes with Lewis' brother-in-law, Smith, and purportedly told Lewis that she would take care of everything. Walker allegedly had Smith switch jackets with Lewis to distract the witnesses.

Walker then walked over to her vehicle, took out the insurance information, and contacted a Sacramento Police Officer that had just arrived on scene. She allegedly told the officer she was the driver of her vehicle and had been badly injured. Walker was then transported, via ambulance, to a hospital.

Walker's insurance claim was denied by Allied Nationwide Insurance Companies, which could have resulted in a potential loss of $5,000. If convicted, each could face up to five years in state prison and/or a maximum fine of $50,000.

Costa Mesa Janitor Charged with WC Fraud

Gary Yost, 41, was arrested at his residence in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Oct. 30, 2002, and was charged with nine felony counts of insurance fraud related to an alleged industrial injury Yost previously sustained.

On May 5, 2000, Yost was working as a custodian supervisor for Service Master at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa when he allegedly injured his back. His treating physician placed him on Total Temporary Disability (TTD) in Dec. 2000 when he claimed he could no longer perform modified work duties with his employer.

A videotape in April 2001 allegedly revealed Yost walking without any signs of discomfort. Through witness interviews it was later discovered Yost was purportedly working at his wife's janitorial cleaning service company while collecting TTD benefits. During his June 2001 deposition, Yost denied working anywhere since the date of his May 2000 industrial accident.

After reviewing the videotape, Yost's treating physicians felt he made a material misrepresentation about his disability to them during his medical evaluations. As a result of Yost's allegedly fraudulent statements, Zurich Insurance Company paid out $31,556.61 in expenses they would not have paid out on this claim.

To submit information for this department, email cbeisiegel@insurancejournal.com.