Ex-Vesta Insurance Adjuster Accused of Fraud in Ala.

January 2, 2006

A former Vesta Insurance adjuster has been indicted on forgery and mail fraud charges alleging that she made fictitious claims for more than $220,000, the U.S. attorney's office in Alabama said.

Felicia Michelle McKinzy, 36, of Birmingham was charged in a 41-count indictment that alleged she made the claims in 2001 and 2002.

"Fraud of this magnitude by an insider at an insurance company not only costs that company, but its policyholders and consumers,'' Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said in a news release.

McKinzy is accused of causing Vesta to issue checks to a fictitious customer and mail them to a private mailbox. She is accused of depositing the checks into a corporate account she had established under the same fictitious name.

The indictment also said she forged claims by legitimate policyholders and deposited resulting insurance checks into the corporate account she had established.