Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Northern California Sting Brings Insurance Fraud Charges in Auto Body Repair Bust
Feb 27 2020 // An operation by a crime task force in Northern California targeting auto body repair facilities resulted in eight felony counts of insurance fraud against four individuals The California Department of Insurance, Contra...
National Insurance Crime Bureau Says Arizona Leads Nation in Auto Glass Claims
Feb 24 2020 // Arizona leads the nation in auto glass claims despite being 14th in total population, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Insurance industry data shows that between 2015 and 2019, 10% of the nation’s...
Mortgage Company Staffer in New Jersey Who Stole $2M Gets Prison Term
Feb 21 2020 // A mortgage company staffer who created hundreds of fraudulent wire transfers to steal roughly $2 million from the firm has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison. Dilcia Mercedes of Camden, N.J., will also...
Tennessee Grand Jury Wants Criminal Investigation Into Coal Ash Worker Illnesses
Feb 20 2020 // A grand jury in Tennessee said it would support a criminal investigation into claims that a Tennessee Valley Authority contractor failed to protect workers cleaning up a massive coal ash spill, many of whom later fell ill...
Employee Accused of Stealing from Nebraska Insurance Agency Fined $400
Feb 20 2020 // A woman accused of stealing from a Beatrice, Neb., insurance agency has been fined $400. Gage County Court records say Nicole Nelson paid the fine; the 45-year-old had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor theft charge. She...
California IHOP Cook Arrested for Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Feb 18 2020 // California Department of Insurance detectives arrested Jonathan Quezada, 28, on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and workers’ compensation insurance fraud after he allegedly falsified an insurance claim to...
Missouri Man Sentenced for Stealing Almost $4M from Former Employer
Feb 14 2020 // A Kirkwood, Mo., man has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $3.8 million in restitution after being convicted of stealing that amount from his former employer, the U.S....
Idaho Falls Agent Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud
Feb 14 2020 // Idaho insurance agent Misty A. Adams was taken into custody this week after being sentenced for insurance fraud. A licensed insurance producer from Idaho Falls, Adams, 45, reportedly backdated her son’s auto...
Sentenced for Crop Insurance Fraud, Kansas Farmer Must Repay $604K
Feb 12 2020 // A Kansas farmer has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for federal crop insurance fraud and bankruptcy fraud. Kevin Struss, 63, of Wakeeney, was also ordered to pay $604,303 in restitution. Struss pleaded guilty in...
Harsh Sentence Sought for Rhode Island Woman Who Took $5M from Loved Ones
Feb 12 2020 // A Rhode Island woman who cheated relatives, her closest friends and her husband’s firefighting colleagues out of nearly $5 million to fund a lavish lifestyle should face the harshest sentence possible, federal...
8 Convicted of Stealing $5.2M from South Florida Casino
Feb 11 2020 // Four former South Florida casino employees and their wives have been convicted of stealing $5.2 million from the business over several years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami announced Tuesday that Michel Aleu,...
Another Federal Circuit Finds Phishing Loss Covered Under Crime Policy
Feb 11 2020 // Companies of all sizes have fallen victim to attacks whereby fraudsters will use deceptive communications, such as spoofed emails, to trick an employee into transferring money into the fraudsters’ control. While...
Kansas AG: Insurance Agent Sentenced to 30 Months Probation for Fraud
Feb 7 2020 // A Smith Center, Kansas, insurance agent has been convicted of insurance fraud and related charges, and ordered to serve 36 months of probation, the Kansas Attorney General’s office reported. Trisha A. Wiehl, 40, was...
Florida Business Owner Accused of Evading $200K in Workers’ Comp Premium
Feb 7 2020 // A Florida business owner is accused of evading paying nearly $200,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums over the course of a year, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial...
TDI: Former NFL Player Indicted in Texas for Fraudulent Claims
Feb 6 2020 // Former NFL player Willie Montae Reagor was arrested January 30 for submitting fraudulent health reimbursement claims after an investigation by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit. The TDI investigation found...
Phantom Auto Theft Claim Results in Charges Against Washington Man
Feb 6 2020 // Dale Maki, of Usk, Wash., was charged in Pend Oreille Superior Court with one count of false claims or proof in connection with a phantom auto theft claim. Maki was charged after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner...
Minnesota Attorney Pleads Guilty in Insurance Fraud Scheme
Feb 5 2020 // A personal injury attorney in Minnesota’s Twin Cities has pleaded guilty to defrauding auto insurance companies by making false health care claims. On Feb. 3, William Sutor III entered the plea to one count of...
Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Hurricane Irma Disaster Assistance Fraud
Jan 31 2020 // A Florida woman has pleaded guilty to lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Deannajo White, 39, pleaded guilty in Jacksonville federal court Friday to one count of disaster assistance fraud, according to court...
Texas Security Company Convicted of $51K Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jan 29 2020 // HHDP Security, a Houston-based security company, has been convicted of premium fraud and ordered by a Travis County District Court judge to pay $51,131 in restitution, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of...
Embattled Tennessee Insurance Agent Fined $23K by State Regulator
Jan 29 2020 // A former Tennessee insurance agent facing more than 70 counts of insurance fraud has reached a settlement with the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) barring her from practicing insurance activities in...
