Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Feds Require Financial Firms to Take Identity Theft Prevention Steps
Oct 31 2007 // Federal regulators are requiring that every financial institution have a program to detect and prevent identity theft on consumer accounts. The federal financial institution regulatory agencies and the Federal Trade...
3 Jacksonville, N.C., Women Arrested on Allegations of Insurance Fraud
Oct 30 2007 // North Carolina Insurance Department enforcement officials arrested three Jacksonville women on charges stemming from allegations that they were involved in a drunk driving accident and falsified an auto insurance claim...
S.D. Court Says Insurance Does Not Cover Lawsuit on Wife Stealing
Oct 30 2007 // South Dakota’s public policy prevents insurance from covering damages in lawsuits against those accused of stealing another’s spouse, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The high court’s unanimous...
Texas Sept. Enforcements Result in Nearly $376K in Fines, Restitution
Oct 30 2007 // Enforcement actions taken by Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during September 2007 include 12 license revocations, three license denials and fines and restitution totaling $375,983, the Texas...
Mich. H.E.A.T. Auto Theft Program Honors Top Leaders
Oct 26 2007 // Michigan’s H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Thefts) program celebrated its 22nd anniversary with a special awards ceremony and breakfast this week. According to H.E.A.T. officials, since its inception in 1985, H.E.A.T.,...
British Petroleum to Pay More Than $370M for Violations in U.S.
Oct 26 2007 // British Petroleum and several of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay approximately $373 million in fines and restitution for environmental violations, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The sanctions stem from a...
UK’s Independent Insurance Execs Get Jail Terms for Fraud
Oct 25 2007 // Until June 2001 Independent Insurance was the third largest P/C insurer in the U.K. Then it all fell apart. Shady loans to founder and former chief executive Michael Bright, cover-ups in accounting and failures to pay...
N.C. Woman Arrested for Insurance Fraud
Oct 25 2007 // N.C. Insurance enforcement officials arrested a Wake County woman, charging her with one count of obtaining property by false pretense. Seung Yon Yu Johnson, of Raleigh was processed at the Guilford County jail and...
Banks Allege TJX Under-reported Number Affected by Data Thefts
Oct 25 2007 // A group of banks alleged in a court filing ithat 94 million accounts were affected by the theft of personal data from Massachusetts-based TJX Cos. — more than double the number the company previously reported in what...
Miss. Woman Arrested for Insurance Fraud
Oct 24 2007 // A Jackson, Miss. woman faces insurance fraud charges, Attorney General Jim Hood’s office announced Monday. A news release from Hood’s office said Dianne Smith, 39, was arrested Friday. She was booked into the...
Vt. Gets Funds to Fight Internet Crimes
Oct 24 2007 // Vermont law enforcement agencies fighting Internet crimes against children are getting some help from the federal government. U.S. Attorney Tom Anderson says the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force will receive a...
Report: Las Vegas No. 1, Phoenix Area No. 4 in Nation’s Auto Thefts
Oct 24 2007 // The Phoenix area has the nation’s fourth highest auto-theft rate, according to a recent National Insurance Crime Bureau report. Of the 54,849 vehicles that were stolen in Arizona in 2006, nearly 40,000 of them were...
Okla. AG Charges Insurance Company Owners with Fraud
Oct 22 2007 // Felony charges were filed against two Texans accused of insurance fraud in Oklahoma, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. The charges, including conspiracy, racketeering and filing a false financial statement, were filed...
Mich. Gov. Proclaims Oct. 22-26 Auto Theft Prevention Week
Oct 19 2007 // Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has deemed the week of Oct. 22-26 as “Turn Up the H.E.A.T. Week.” The purpose is to activate residents to increase their awareness of auto theft prevention measures and to...
Ind. Woman Accused of Stealing Soldier Son’s Insurance Gets Probation
Oct 15 2007 // A Portage woman who pleaded guilty to stealing $250,000 in life insurance money after her son died in Iraq was scheduled to eight years of probation. Janie Lee Espinoza admitted taking her son’s life insurance money,...
Woman Convicted of Stealing Identities of Nearly 500 Alabamians
Oct 12 2007 // A woman who worked for the company that processes Alabama Medicaid claims on pleaded guilty to charges of stealing the identities of nearly 500 Alabamians, Attorney General Troy King said. Kwantrice Thornton, 24, was...
S.C. Vehicle Theft Rate Climbs for 8th Straight Year
Oct 10 2007 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau says the 1995 Honda Accord was the most likely automobile to be stolen in South Carolina in 2006. The 1999 Chevrolet full size C/K 1500 pickup ranked second on the list, followed by the...
Texas Business Owner Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Oct 10 2007 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County court sentenced a Bryan, Texas, business owner on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. James N. Vavra was sentenced to two years’ deferred...
Corporations Await Supreme Court Ruling on Reach of Securities Lawsuits
Oct 9 2007 // The hopes of Enron investors are riding on a case being argued before the Supreme Court today that may be the last chance at compensation for their losses when the scandal-ridden energy company collapsed. Much of corporate...
ID Fraud Touches 250,000 Washingtonians Per Year
Oct 9 2007 // Criminal activity in identity fraud touches more than a quarter of a million victims each year in Washington state, and “sucks” well more than $1 billion from the state’s economy, according to...
