Latest Fraud Headlines

All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Former Beacon Mutual VP Accused of Fraud, Conspiracy

Oct 20 2006 // A former executive at Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. in Rhode Island was indicted this week on charges of conspiracy and insurance fraud related to an investigation into the state’s dominant workers’ compensation...

La. Using Bait Cars in Effort to Reduce Auto Insurance Fraud

Oct 20 2006 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance reported it now has a powerful new tool to use in its long standing battle against auto theft and high insurance rates. The tool, known as a bait car, is a motor vehicle fitted with...

Johnston Honored as Mass. Insurance Professional of the Year

Oct 19 2006 // The Massachusetts insurance community has honored Daniel J. Johnston, president of the Automobile Insurers Bureau and a founder and executive director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, as the fifth annual...

Truck Driver Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud in Texas

Oct 16 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County court sentenced Jerry S. Amaya of Cedar Creek, Texas, on workers’ comp fraud-related charges. The court sentenced Amaya to one year of probation and...

Insurance Fraud Charges Filed Against Neb. Glass Company Owner

Oct 13 2006 // Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning and state Insurance Director Tim Wagner announced 10 insurance fraud charges were filed against James Almond III, owner of Viking Glass in Omaha. Almond allegedly submitted fake...

Liberty Mutual Defeats N.J. Fraud Network

Oct 12 2006 // A lawsuit against an intricate auto insurance fraud network uncovered by Liberty Mutual investigators in the late 1990s came to a costly end last week for the owners of two now-defunct New Jersey chiropractic and...

The Commissioners

Oct 9 2006 // Washington’s Mike Kreidler: Making the insurance market work The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner is a vigorous protector of consumers under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Kreidler. From...

Mike Kreidler, Washington, Insurance Commissioner

Oct 9 2006 // The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner is a vigorous protector of consumers under the leadership of Commissioner Mike Kreidler. From maintaining a trust relationship between consumers and insurers, to...

La. Producer Arrested for Allegedly Pocketing Premium Payments

Oct 6 2006 // A Shreveport, La., producer was issued a cease and desist order and summary suspension of her license before being arrested for allegedly misappropriating insurance premium payments, forging names on various insurance...

State Farm Says Employees Targets of Katrina Criminal Probe

Oct 5 2006 // At least two employees of State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. are targets of a criminal investigation of the insurer’s handling of policyholders’ claims after Hurricane Katrina, the company disclosed in court...

N.Y. Man Pleads Guilty in N.J. Auto Theft Ring

Oct 5 2006 // A New York man has pleaded guilty for his leadership role in an auto theft and insurance fraud ring in New Jersey, according to New Jersey officials. New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Criminal Justice Director...

Five Arrested for Theft Related to Contractor Fraud in La.

Oct 5 2006 // Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., announced that his Special Agents made arrests for theft of funds related to alleged contractor fraud in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. On Sept. 25, 2006,...

Kan. Department Employee Named to Leadership Role for FBI Associates

Oct 2 2006 // Kansas Commissioner Sandy Praeger has announced that Kansas Insurance Department employee, Randy Adair, chief fraud investigator, has been selected as the 2nd vice-president of the Kansas-Western Missouri chapter of the...

Project Manager Indicted in Texas for Workers’ Comp Fraud

Sep 29 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County, Texas, grand jury indicted Higgie Highsmith of San Antonio on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. Highsmith allegedly collected $7,112 in...

Fla., Ga. Regulators Warn Consumers of Multi-state Scam

Sep 28 2006 // A bogus letter telling recipients they have won a contest with a chance to win big money is at the center of fraudulent activity being perpetrated in multiple states. The letter is on forged MAG Mutual Insurance Co....

Ill. Couple Accused of Torching Car Dealership for Insurance Money

Sep 27 2006 // After an investigation of more than four months, two McHenry, Ill. residents have been charged with the fire at a McHenry car dealership in April, police said. Arrested were John Krawec, 43, and his girlfriend, Anna...

SEC Charges Three Former RenaissanceRe Execs with Fraud

Sep 27 2006 // The Securities and Exchange Commission charged three former RenaissanceRe executives with securities fraud charges for their alleged involvement in a finite reinsurance scam that the SEC claims the executives concocted to...

ATV Thefts on Rise in Ark. as Hunting Season Nears

Sep 27 2006 // Arkansas law enforcement officials are warning hunters to keep an eye on their all-terrain vehicles when they get out in the woods this fall. Although thieves nab four-wheelers all year, deer season is an especially big...

STATE PATROL VETERAN HIRED FOR ANTI-FRAUD HIT

Sep 25 2006 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has appointed a veteran of the State Patrol to manage the agency’s newly authorized insurance anti-fraud program. Capt. Robert Veliz of Yakima, a 26-year veteran of the...

Alameda County Suspects Arrested for Fraud, Conspiracy, Grand Theft

Sep 22 2006 // Four suspects in Alameda County, Calif., have been arrested in a staged auto collision ring that allegedly caused more than 100 collisions in the Bay Area resulting in more than $2 million in losses to insurers, according...