Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
US Bank: Lawsuit in Iowa Fraud Scandal ‘Without Merit’
Sep 19 2012 // US Bank is rejecting allegations in a lawsuit that claims one of its employees helped Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russ Wasendorf Sr. mislead regulators about his misuse of customer funds. Wasendorf, the founder of the...
Tennessee Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Stealing Premiums
Sep 19 2012 // A Dyersburg, Tenn., former insurance agent is scheduled for sentencing next month after she entered guilty pleas to felony theft charges. Tina Butler was indicted on charges that she took insurance premium money from 16...
Mass. Woman Charged With 46 Counts of Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud
Sep 17 2012 // A Rockland, Mass., woman has been indicted in connection with a scheme to fraudulently collect insurance payments of more than $28,000. The Massachusetts attorney general’s office announced last Friday that Olga...
Second Man Pleads Guilty in Grisly South Carolina Insurance Fraud
Sep 17 2012 // A second man has pleaded guilty in connection with an insurance scheme that cost a mentally disabled man his left hand. U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles says 58-year-old David Player pleaded guilty in Columbia last week to mail...
South Carolina Trooper’s Wife Charged with Arson, Insurance Fraud
Sep 14 2012 // The wife of a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper has been charged with setting her home on fire and lying to officials. Paula L. Rose has been charged with third-degree arson for a fire at her home in July. Rose also is...
Prosecutor: CEO in Iowa Fraud Case Admits to Fraud
Sep 13 2012 // The founder of an Iowa brokerage has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in which he admits to carrying out a $200 million fraud and embezzlement scheme that bankrupted his company and could result in him...
Verisk Crime Analytics Launches Cargo Theft Prevention Systems in Canada
Sep 13 2012 // Verisk Crime Analytics has launched national information sharing systems designed to help Canadian insurers and their policyholders combat the growing problems of cargo and heavy equipment theft. Verisk Crime Analytics is...
Michigan Man Suspected in Officer’s Slaying, Insurance Fraud Found Dead
Sep 12 2012 // A recently divorced executive accused of mishandling employees’ insurance funds fired on police at his home in a wealthy Detroit, Mich., suburb, killing one officer and precipitating a 20-hour armed standoff that...
Florida Targets Check Cashing Fraud
Sep 10 2012 // Just months after Florida lawmakers enacted a law targeting the role of check cashing companies in the construction industry, state officials announced a string of arrests netting more than $140 million in fraudulent...
Criminal Investigation Launched Over Hurricane Ike Claim
Sep 7 2012 // Texas homeowner Jim Warner has been locked in a legal battle with State Farm over denial of insurance claims for the damages to his home from Hurricane Ike. That battle was just upgraded to a category five by the Travis...
Alaska Family Charged With Insurance Fraud
Sep 7 2012 // Three members of a North Pole family have been charged with felony insurance fraud connected to the crash of a pickup. A complaint filed by state insurance investigator Alex Romero says 26-year-old Marlon A. Conklin and...
Former N.Y. Insurance Agent Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $648K
Sep 5 2012 // New York authorities announced last week that a Long Island, N.Y., man has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies after allegedly stealing more than $648,000 in premiums from a client and spending the money on...
N.C. Authorities Announce Arrests for Alleged Insurance Fraud Schemes
Aug 31 2012 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin this week announced the arrest of Shacoria Vontravia Crawford, 24, of Charlotte, N.C. She is charged with one count each of insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit...
Tennessee Opens New Unit to Investigate Identity Theft Crimes
Aug 30 2012 // Tennessee’s safety department is creating a new unit to investigate identity theft crimes that local law enforcement agencies don’t have the resources to target. Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security...
Jones Annual Report Details Consumer Protection
Aug 28 2012 // The California Department of Insurance has issued California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones’ annual report for 2011 that details CDI’s progress on its “ambitious consumer and business protection...
Chubb Launches Insurance Product for Health Care Fraud, Data Breaches
Aug 28 2012 // The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has introduced insurance coverage to help small to mid-size health care organizations manage some of their biggest exposures. ForeFront Portfolio 3.0 for Health Care Organizations offers...
Philippine Police Arrest 357 Foreigners for Online Fraud
Aug 24 2012 // Philippine police say they have rounded up 357 foreigners accused of duping Taiwanese and Chinese citizens in an online scam. National police investigation chief Samuel Pagdilao said the mostly Chinese and Taiwanese...
South Carolina Man Admits to Sawing Off Man’s Hand for Insurance Money
Aug 23 2012 // A South Carolina man pleaded guilty this week to a federal fraud charge, acknowledging his role in an insurance scheme that cost a mentally disabled man his left hand. Gerald B. Hardin of Cayce told U.S. District Judge...
Mississippi Woman Alleged to Be Habitual ‘Slip and Fall’ Claimant
Aug 21 2012 // A Southaven, Mississippi woman has been arrested for fraud and charged as a habitual offender. Authorities accuse her of faking a fall at the Ramada Inn in Horn Lake to collect insurance money. The Mississippi attorney...
Iowa Brokerage Founder Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud
Aug 20 2012 // The founder of an Iowa-based brokerage pleaded not guilty on Aug. 17 to fraud charges in a suspected $200 million embezzlement scheme that drove his firm to bankruptcy and left thousands of customers without their...
