Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How High Costs of Car Parts Drive Car Theft: Insurance Crime Bureau
Feb 15 2018 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says today’s vehicles are loaded with expensive parts and technology that do more than increase the costs of repairs, even in minor accidents. The organization says those...
North Carolina Museum Reports Theft of $10K Emerald
Feb 12 2018 // A $10,000 emerald has been reported missing from a North Carolina science museum, more than three weeks after it was last seen. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a representative from the Asheville Museum of Science...
Uber Agrees to Give Stock to Waymo to Settle Trade Secret Theft Dispute
Feb 9 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to give about $245 million in stock to settle the high-stakes trade-secret theft lawsuit brought by Waymo, resolving a conflict that already cost the ride-hailing giant its top driverless car...
Arizona Man Gets Jail Time for Selling Fake Insurance Policies to Businesses
Feb 8 2018 // An Arizona man has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for selling fake insurance policies to commercial environmental businesses. Prosecutors say Brian McFarland must also pay full restitution of more than $450,000 to...
Businessman in Vermont Ski Resort Fraud Case Agrees to Pay $81M
Feb 7 2018 // A Miami businessman accused of massive fraud involving foreign investors’ money in a Vermont ski area has agreed to pay back more than $81 million and give up ownership of two ski resorts, the Securities and Exchange...
Maryland Issued $466K in Insurance Fraud Fines, Penalties in 2017
Feb 7 2018 // For the calendar year 2017, Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer Jr. authorized civil orders and criminal charges totaling $466,261 in fines, penalties and restitution to 77 citizens charged with committing insurance...
Trial Over Waymo Claim of Uber Trade Secrets Theft Gets Underway
Feb 6 2018 // Uber was either a cheating competitor willing to break the law to win the race to develop self-driving cars, or the victim of an unproven conspiracy theory stitched together by its main rival, Waymo, jurors heard in...
Cyber Insurance Claims from Fraudulent Instruction Scams Rise: Beazley
Feb 5 2018 // Organizations are being forced to deal with an increased threat to their operations from fraudulent instruction scams, according to specialist insurer Beazley’s most recent Breach Report. According to the insurer,...
More Hackers Target Red-Hot Cryptocurrency Space: Report
Feb 2 2018 // Bitcoin’s popularity and the emergence of about 1,500 other digital coins or tokens have drawn more hackers into the red-hot cryptocurrency space, expanding opportunities for crime and fraud, cyber security firm...
Insurers Begin to Offer Cryptocurrency Theft Cover, Tackling Risks of Growing Sector
Feb 1 2018 // Major global insurers are starting to offer protection against cryptocurrency theft, willing to tackle daunting challenges it brings rather than miss out on this volatile and loosely regulated, but rapidly growing...
West Virginia Man Sentenced to Nearly 2 Years for Filing $354K in Fraudulent Claims
Jan 26 2018 // A West Virginia man has been sentenced to one year and nine months in federal prison for filing false insurance claims totaling more than $354,000. Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Lichtman of Kearneysville was sentenced for...
Man Charged with Generator Fraud in Connecticut after Superstorm Sandy
Jan 22 2018 // An Oregon man has been charged with stealing deposits Connecticut homeowners had made for generators after Superstorm Sandy. The Stamford Advocate reports that 56-year-old John Mech, of Seaside, Oregon, took a $7,500...
Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty in Deepwater Horizon Compensation Fund Fraud
Jan 22 2018 // An Empire, Louisiana, man has pleaded guilty to defrauding the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion settlement compensation fund, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced. U.S....
Unlicensed Contractor Sentenced to Prison for Fraud in Massachusetts
Jan 17 2018 // An unlicensed home improvement contractor whose false promises left an elderly Massachusetts woman’s home in ruins and others temporarily homeless is heading to prison. The Salem News reports that 49-year-old Jaime...
Insurance, Finance Fraud in UK Jumps to $2.9B, a 15-Year High
Jan 16 2018 // Fraud in the U.K. rose to 2.1 billion pounds ($2.9 billion), the most in 15 years, as the police commander in charge of fighting the crime said the amount of evidence was setting back investigations. The value of finance...
Nebraska Bill Would Criminalize Drone Use to Spy on People, Harass Cows
Jan 8 2018 // Using a drone to spy on neighbors, drop drugs into prisons or harass cows could lead to criminal charges under a new bill Nebraska lawmakers will consider later this year. The measure would impose new safety and privacy...
Texas Regulators Reveal 2017’s Top Insurance Fraud Cases
Jan 8 2018 // Texas Department of Insurance fraud investigations in 2017 resulted in 135 suspects referred for prosecution, 113 indictments, and $2.3 million in court-ordered restitution for victims. TDI described some of the most...
Minnesota Chiropractor, Runners Convicted in Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme
Jan 8 2018 // An Edina, Minnesota, chiropractor and his recruiters have been found guilty of auto insurance fraud, the Minnesota Department of Commerce announced in late December 2017. Federal prosecutors reported that Adam John Burke,...
Former California Agent Sentenced for Stealing $100K in Premiums and Investments
Jan 5 2018 // Former licensed insurance agent Frederick Donald Rollins, 42, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was sentenced today after pleading guilty to one felony count of grand theft, two counts of securities fraud and an aggravated...
North Carolina Vehicle Thefts On the Rise After 10-year Decline
Jan 5 2018 // Vehicle thefts are on the rise again in North Carolina after a decade-long decline. The State Bureau of Investigation says 15,007 vehicles were stolen in North Carolina in 2016. That was nearly 4,000 more stolen vehicles...
