premium fraud News

South Florida P/C Insurance Agent Charged With Swiping $131,000 in Premiums

A south Florida insurance agent has been charged with absconding with more than $130,000 in premiums, leaving property owners uninsured after Hurricane Ian. Naser Al-Sweity, of Boca Raton, was booked into Palm Beach County jail this week on charges of …

Florida Approves New WC Rule: Carriers Must Verify Subcontractor Employees

The National Council on Compensation Insurance has laid down the law, requiring Florida workers’ compensation insurers to verify employees before arbitrarily charging premium for subcontractors’ exempt officers. The question now is, will insurers abide or will they choose to ignore …

$2.5M in Underreported Payroll by California Business Owners

Karamjit Nijjar, 57, his wife Rajinder Kaur Nijjar, 55, and their daughter Mandip Nijjar, 31, were arraigned today on four felony counts each for their involvement in a workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme after allegedly underreporting over $2.5 million in …

California Siblings Sentenced For Workers’ Comp Fraud

A California brother and sister who owned a landscaping service won’t contest charges that they duped several workers’ compensation carriers out of more than $200,000. Michael George Mello Jr., 37, and his sister Mary Catherine Rodriguez, 38, owners of Sacramento, …

Michigan Broker Gets 5 Years in $1M Fraud Case

A northern Michigan insurance broker accused of fleecing elderly clients out of more than $1 million has been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. Prosecutors say William Lowder persuaded clients to change their investments and put money in annuities …

Northern California Business Owner Sentenced For Premium Fraud

A Northern California business owner has been sentenced for workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud and pay over $2 million in restitution to insurers, the California Department of Insurance announced on Wednesday. Teresa Reif, 34, of Redwood City, Calif., who originally …

Idaho Insurance Agent Gets Suspended Sentence

A former Farmers Insurance agent from Meridian, Idaho was sentenced to up to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to diverting more than $3,700 in premium payments for his personal use. Fourth District Judge Thomas Neville suspended the …

Charges Filed Against Former Utah Insurance Agent

The Utah Insurance Department’s fraud division has filed criminal charges against former insurance agent Stewart Ian Rodgers. Rodgers has been operating under the name “SIR Insurance Group Online.” The fraud division received a complaint from a Salt Lake City car …

Profile: Workers’ Comp Fraud Expert Takes Old School Approach

When a Southern California family was convicted of workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud, it wasn’t due to sophisticated software, a supercomputer or even high-tech surveillance techniques. It was the result of good old-fashioned detective work, according to Maryann Lazernik, who …

Calif. Broker Charged With Defrauding Tom Hanks, Ex-‘Police’ Musician

A Southern California insurance broker was arrested Wednesday on allegations he overcharged Tom Hanks, musician ex-Police band member Andy Summers and others hundreds of thousands of dollars for insurance premiums. Jerry B. Goldman, who was arrested at his Thousand Oaks …