Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
N.J. Insurance Adjuster Charged With Defrauding N.J. Turnpike Authority
Feb 26 2014 // Authorities announced the owner of a New Jersey-based insurance adjusting company was arrested Tuesday for allegedly defrauding the N.J. Turnpike Authority and certain insurance companies of more than $200,000. Robert...
N.Y. Orthopedist Sentenced to 8 Years in LIRR Fraud Case
Feb 26 2014 // An orthopedist has been sentenced to eight years in prison for scheming to help New York’s Long Island Rail Road employees receive disability payments by exaggerating or making up ailments. Dr. Peter Lesniewski was...
California Senator Pleads Not Guilty In Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
Feb 25 2014 // State Sen. Ron Calderon pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he accepted $100,000 in bribes in return for pushing legislation, charges that could send him to federal prison for years. Calderon, a member of a...
Zewe to Head Louisiana Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority
Feb 24 2014 // Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced Jeffrey Zewe has been appointed as Director of the Louisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (LATIFPA) at the Louisiana Department of Insurance...
Attorney General Supports National Notification Standard for ID Theft
Feb 24 2014 // U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, citing the recent massive data theft at retailer Target Corp., urged Congress on Monday to enact a national standard for notifying consumers about such breaches. “This would empower...
ID Theft Complaints Up 18% in Illinois, AG Says
Feb 24 2014 // Illinois’ attorney general says the number of identity theft complaints received by her office rose 18 percent last year. Lisa Madigan says her office received about 3,000 complaints in 2013, up from about 2,500 the...
22 Charged in Florida Staged Flood, Fire Fraud Ring
Feb 24 2014 // A major fraud ring that staged fires and floods at South Florida homes to collect millions of dollars in claims from insurance companies has been broken up with charges against 22 people, authorities said. The alleged...
Former Idaho Councilman Sentenced For Insurance Fraud
Feb 24 2014 // A former Nampa City Council member in Idaho was sentenced in February to 90 days in jail and 12 years of supervised probation for insurance fraud. Terms of the sentence given to Bob Schmidt on in 3rd District Court require...
Hole-in-one Insurance Fraudster in Washington Sentenced
Feb 24 2014 // Kevin KolendaKevin Kolenda, 56, a Connecticut businessman who has been reportedly defrauding golf tournaments and golfers for two decades, was sentenced in February in King County Superior Court in Washington. Judge Jean...
California Legislator Indicted for Taking Bribes in Workers’ Comp Scheme
Feb 21 2014 // The Los Angeles Times is reporting that state Sen. Ron Calderon has been indicted in a corruption case and accused of taking about $100,000 in bribes from a hospital executive in Southern California who ran an alleged...
Kentucky Forms Financial Cybercrime Prevention Task Force
Feb 21 2014 // The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions has created a task force aimed at preventing financial cybercrime. “The task force will help prevent cyberattacks from undermining the future integrity of the...
How ACA Healthcare Law Could Affect P/C Insurance Costs and Claims
Feb 21 2014 // The property/casualty insurance industry is likely to face cost shifting by hospitals, physicians and other medical providers due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to an insurance industry...
Motorists Insurance Group Chairman Bishop Joins IDentity Theft 911 Board
Feb 20 2014 // John Bishop, chairman of the board and former chief executive officer of Columbus, Ohio-based Motorists Insurance Group, has joined the board of IDentity Theft 911. IDentity Theft 911 is a New York-based provider of...
Predicting Crime with Big Data Without Breaking the Bank
Feb 20 2014 // Researchers at Rutgers’ School of Criminal Justice have developed commercial technology that public safety practitioners and researchers worldwide are using to fight crime. Leslie Kennedy and Joel Caplan of Rutgers...
ID Theft Complaints Up in Illinois, AG Says
Feb 13 2014 // The Illinois Attorney General’s office says the number of identity theft complaints received by her office climbed 18 percent last year. Lisa Madigan says her office received about 3,000 complaints in 2013, up from...
Penn. Man Charged With Theft of $630K in Insurance Funds
Feb 10 2014 // The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on Feb. 7 that criminal charges have been filed against Derl Knarr of Herndon, Penn. According to authorities, Knarr, age 55, is charged in...
Mass. Man Charged With Fraudulently Collecting $28K in Comp Benefits
Feb 10 2014 // A Quincy, Mass., man has been indicted on charges he fraudulently collected more than $28,000 in workers’ compensation benefits while working under a false identity, authorities announced. Paulo DaSilva, 53, is...
Ohio Chiropractor Must Pay Nearly $70K for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Feb 10 2014 // A Fairfield (Butler County) chiropractor was sentenced to pay nearly $70,000 in restitution and investigation costs to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). Tariq Arif pleaded guilty Jan. 13 in the Franklin...
Hole-in-one Insurance Fraudster in Washington Sentenced
Feb 7 2014 // Kevin Kolenda, 56, a Connecticut businessman who has been reportedly defrauding golf tournaments and golfers for two decades, was sentenced Friday in King County Superior Court in Washington. Judge Jean Rietschel sentenced...
Wisconsin Police Recover Violin Thought to Be Stolen $5M Stradivarius
Feb 7 2014 // Police say they have recovered a violin that could be the rare Stradivarius stolen from a concertmaster following a performance last month at a Milwaukee, Wis., college. Milwaukee Police Lt. Jeffrey Norman said experts...
