Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Fraud Fugitive Caught After Taunting Tweet
Jul 10 2013 // “Catch me if you can.” San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Wanda Podgurski sent that taunting tweet after skipping trial in January while facing charges of insurance fraud. But then...
Ohio Couple Sentenced in Insurance Fraud Case
Jul 8 2013 // Ohio Lieutenant Governor and Department of Insurance Director Mary Taylor announced that a department insurance fraud investigation involving a $2,400 claim has led to the sentencing of husband and wife, Tony and Patricia...
Former Texas Insurance Agent Sentenced to 20 Years for Theft from Elderly
Jul 8 2013 // A Harris County District Court has convicted Leon “Randy” Sinclair III, of Houston, of first-degree felony Misapplication of Fiduciary Property, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Sinclair was...
NICB Report Ranks Vehicle Theft Rates in Northeast
Jul 3 2013 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its report last week on a per capita review of vehicle thefts from the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The report, based on 2012 data, shows that California...
Former Claims Manager for N.J. Turnpike Authority Faces Fraud Charges
Jul 3 2013 // Federal prosecutors say a former claims manager for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority stole more than $120,000 from the agency through various schemes. Gerardo Blasi of Clifton was arrested Monday by special FBI agents....
Former North Dakota Insurance Agent Gets 10 Years for Theft
Jun 28 2013 // A former Dickinson, N.D., insurance agent convicted of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a client has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. A jury in April found Scott Biggs guilty of five counts of felony theft...
Illinois Man Sentenced for Multi-State Auto Theft Scheme
Jun 27 2013 // A Madison, Ill., man faced jail time after being convicted in for an auto theft scheme that spanned Illinois and Missouri, according to federal officials. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois,...
Ex-Kansas Insurance Agent Accused of Stealing $2M
Jun 27 2013 // Federal prosecutors have charged a former Kansas insurance agent with stealing nearly $2 million from policyholders. The U.S. attorney’s office says a 51-count indictment unsealed June 25 alleges 41-year-old Jason...
Port Authority Police Officer Accused of Insurance Fraud in New York
Jun 26 2013 // A Port Authority police officer has been charged with insurance fraud for claiming he was disabled while moonlighting in a rock band. Authorities say Christopher Inserra defrauded the AFLAC insurance company and the Port...
Car Thefts Up for First Time in Years
Jun 26 2013 // U.S. auto thefts probably rose in 2012 after eight straight years of declines as criminals took advantage of California’s budget cuts and reduced police forces, an insurance-industry group said. Thefts rose 1.3...
Ohio Man Ordered to Pay Nearly $29K for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jun 26 2013 // An Ohio man was sentenced for working while receiving disability payments from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) for a prior workplace injury. Joshua Schlosser was ordered to repay nearly $29,000 he...
Wichita, Kansas Officials Seek to Curb Thefts of Copper
Jun 25 2013 // In a move to curb increased thefts of copper and other metals, Wichita city officials and local police are considering revising the city’s scrap metal ordinance. Expected to be brought to the city council by early...
Virginia SIU Investigator Wins Award for Work on Staged Accident Case
Jun 21 2013 // A staged accident investigation in Roanoke, Va., led to an award for a Nationwide Insurance special investigator. Suzy Clingman-Taylor was named Investigator of the Year by the Virginia Chapter of the International...
Texas Tops U.S. in Number of Lost, Stolen Firearms
Jun 20 2013 // Federal authorities say Texas has far and away the largest number of firearms in the U.S. reported as lost or stolen. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a report this week showing there were...
Former Idaho Councilman Charged With Insurance Fraud
Jun 20 2013 // A former city councilman from eastern Idaho who resigned earlier this year then left the state is back in Idaho and charged with two felonies. The Post Register reported that Lawrence Blackburn was arraigned in 7th...
Mississippi Man Sentenced for Insurance Fraud, Ordered to Repay Nationwide
Jun 18 2013 // A 35-year-old D’Iberville, Mississippi, man has been sentenced to prison and ordered to repay over $6,000 to Nationwide Insurance Co. for defrauding the company on medical bills involving claims on two auto...
Property Crime Down, Violent Crime Up in 2012: FBI
Jun 17 2013 // The nation experienced a 1.2 percent increase in the number of violent crimes and a 0.8 percent decline in the number of property crimes in 2012 when compared with data from 2011, the FBI said. Violent crime increased in...
BP Shareholders Seek Class Action Status for Suit Over Gulf Spill
Jun 16 2013 // BP Plc’s U.S. investors asked a federal court to grant class action, or group, status for their lawsuit claiming the company misled them before and after the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The investors, led by...
U.S. Sues BMW, Dollar General Over Use of Criminal Records in Hiring
Jun 14 2013 // The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed lawsuits this week against discount retailer Dollar General Corp. and a BMW manufacturing plant in South Carolina over their use of criminal background checks to screen out...
Hiscox Adds Crime, Data Breach, Privacy Options to PL Portfolio
Jun 13 2013 // Hiscox has launched phase two of their Hiscox Professional Liability Portfolio, adding two additional coverage options to the existing portfolio. Professional services firms can now add crime and data breach and privacy...
