Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Enron’s legacies and directors’ and officers’ risk
Jan 7 2007 // Shortly after former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s Oct. 23, 2006, sentencing, the Enron Task Force said it was closing down, with its mission mostly complete. Yet did that event really signal an endpoint in the Enron...
Fugitive Minister, Damaging Adjustor Among Pa.’s Top Fraudsters in 2006
Jan 5 2007 // Imagine public adjustor being caught red-handed on an insurance agent’s digital camera causing damage to a home that was supposedly a result of a storm. This scenario involves just one of the criminals highlighted on...
Billings, Mont. Man Sentenced for Insurance Fraud
Jan 5 2007 // A Billings, Mont., insurance agent who pleaded guilty to fraud was sentenced to three years in prison. Michael D. Hutton, 59, was also ordered to pay $185,000 in restitution. U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom said Hutton...
Los Angeles CPCU Hosts Fraud Seminar
Jan 3 2007 // The Los Angeles Chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society is hosting a meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 9 at the Brasserie Restaurant Sheraton Hotel/Macy’s Plaza on 711 South Hope Street. The...
Rule Restricting R.I. Crime Victim Compensation Challenged
Jan 2 2007 // An association of drug treatment programs is challenging a Rhode Island state policy that allows financial compensation to be denied to crime victims who have been convicted of driving drunk or dealing drugs. The Drug and...
Tennessee Insurance Broker Arrested on $1.8M Wire Fraud Charges
Dec 29 2006 // A Smithville, Tenn., insurance broker was arrested Dec. 27 on 15 federal counts of wire fraud, according to officials. According to the federal grand jury indictment, B. Don James defrauded investors of more than $1.8...
New Ill. Law Effective Jan. 1 Will Help Prevent Identity Theft, Official Says
Dec 28 2006 // Beginning Monday, Jan. 1, Illinois consumers will have access to a new tool to stop identity thieves from opening new credit in their names. The new law will allow all Illinois residents to place a “security...
Ex-Md. Lawmaker Facing Charges Steps Down from Workers’ Comp Fund
Dec 28 2006 // Former Maryland state Sen. Thomas Bromwell has agreed to step down at the end of the year as head of the Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund under a separation agreement announced by the organization’s board of...
Former La. Insurance Agent Arrested on Fraud Charges
Dec 28 2006 // A former Oakdale, La., insurance agent was arrested and issued a cease and desist order on charges of fraud and misappropriation of funds, Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced recently. John Craig...
MySpace Users Tempting Targets for Identity Theft
Dec 27 2006 // MySpace devotee Kary Rogers was expecting to see a gut-busting video when a friend from the popular online hangout messaged him a link. First, though, he was directed to a page where he was supposed to re-enter his...
Texas Announces November Enforcement Actions
Dec 27 2006 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced enforcement actions taken by Commissioner Mike Geeslin that became final during November. The actions include five license revocations, a license denial and fines and restitution...
UnumProvident Executive Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Dec 26 2006 // A UnumProvident Corp. regional vice president pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in a case that caused losses of about $6.1 million for the nation’s largest disability insurer, prosecutors said. James Michael...
ID theft warning in Okla.
Dec 25 2006 // Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued a consumer alert to customers of First State Bank in Ketchum warning them about a scam being perpetrated in their area. According to the AG’s office, the bank had...
Commissioners, compensation rules, earthquakes made for shaky ground
Dec 25 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
Contingent commissions, court rulings highlight 2006
Dec 25 2006 // In 2006, the Midwest experienced the impact of contingent commission settlements based on the actions of several attorneys general and a myriad of court rulings on insurers’ use of credit, liquor liability and...
Top 10 Stories of the Year – West
Dec 24 2006 // In the era when cowboys and gold panners roamed, the West was characterized as a wild yet adventurous place to live. Judging by 2006’s insurance industry headlines, those sentiments don’t seem to have...
ID Theft, Fraud Case Leads Okla. AG to Ask for Statute Change
Dec 21 2006 // Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s office will propose legislation to expand his Consumer Protection Unit’s prosecutorial authority. In a release, Edmondson said a case he recently filed, which concerns...
Insurers Remind Holiday Shoppers about Dangers of Identity Theft
Dec 21 2006 // Des Moines, Iowa-based Hawkeye-Security Insurance and Indiana Insurance, both members of the Liberty Mutual Group, are urging holiday shoppers to raise their awareness of identity theft, the fastest growing crime in...
N.Y. Officials Charge 8 with Commercial Fleet Insurance Fraud
Dec 21 2006 // Eight people were charged have been charged with defrauding insurance companies by registering commercial motor vehicle fleets in upstate New York to avoid higher premiums in New York City, Albany County District Attorney...
The One That Didn’t Get Away: Maine Man Trapped By Lobsters
Dec 21 2006 // Crustaceans and clams starred as unlikely informants in a workers’ compensation fraud case in Hancock County, Maine. An almost three-year case of “something’s fishy” finally ended this week with the...
