Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Exposes Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jan 26 2007 // William E. Keir pleaded guilty earlier this month to one felony count of wrongfully seeking workers’ compensation insurance, according to the West Virginia Insurance Commission. Keir, 29, of Morgantown was indicted...
Mass. Auto Insurance Fraud Crackdown Paying Off for Drivers
Jan 26 2007 // High-profile crackdowns on auto insurance fraud have resulted in dramatic savings for drivers in some Massachusetts communities. The statewide average premium is scheduled to drop by nearly 12 percent on April 1, but...
Bankers Report Fraudulent Purchases Following TJX Credit Data Theft
Jan 26 2007 // Customer data stolen from TJX Cos. outside Boston by computer hackers has been used to make fraudulent debit card and credit card purchases in the United States and overseas, according to the Massachusetts Bankers...
Ohio Nationwide Insurance Members’ Data Taken in Theft from Vendor
Jan 25 2007 // Computer records containing medical claim information, health data and Social Security numbers of 28,279 Nationwide insurance customers were stolen from the office of a vendor in Massachusetts, the company said. A lockbox...
Washington Fraud Unit Collections Up in 2006
Jan 25 2007 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) said its fraud program collected $135 million in fiscal year 2006, a 29 percent increase over the previous year. In addition, the department recovered...
Fla. CFO Launches Nationwide Search for Fraud Director
Jan 23 2007 // In effort to combat the mounting rate of insurance fraud, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has launched a nationwide search for a “highly-experienced and talented” law enforcement official to lead the...
New Ark. Attorney General to Target Identity Theft
Jan 23 2007 // Newly elected Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced a proposal aimed at preventing identity theft will be presented as part of his legislative package for the 2007 legislative session. “Essentially what...
Ohio Health-care Provider Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jan 19 2007 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) announced today that a Cleveland woman pleaded guilty to a felony count of workers’ compensation fraud. Carolyn Burten, also known as Carolyn Cook, pleaded guilty...
New Mexico Auditor Proposes to Conduct More Fraud Investigations
Jan 18 2007 // New Mexico Auditor Hector Balderas wants to send a message to the public and would-be whistleblowers in state and local government: alert his office to potential fraud, corruption or mismanagement. Balderas, a lawyer and...
La. Resident Pleads Guilty to Hurricane-Related Federal Fraud Charge
Jan 18 2007 // A Louisiana resident pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on a charge of fraud related to hurricane disaster relief programs, U.S. Attorney David R. Dugas of the Middle District of...
Virginia Bill Would Require Notice When Personal Data Is Lost or Stolen
Jan 16 2007 // Two Virginia lawmakers said this week that they will introduce legislation requiring government agencies and businesses to notify Virginians if their personal information is lost or stolen. Del. Robert Brink, D-Arlington,...
Former Saginaw Mayor Charged with Arson, Insurance Fraud
Jan 15 2007 // Former Sagnaw Mayor Wilmer Jones Ham was recently charged with arson and insurance fraud in the burning of her 1986 Mercedes-Benz. Ham, 56, is the mother of ex-Detroit Pistons player Darvin Ham, who was part of the 2004...
La. Police Officer Resigns After Fraud Accusation
Jan 15 2007 // A Shreveport, La., police officer resigned after he was accused of changing a police report to claim that his wife had insurance when another car hit hers. Cpl. Ronald Small and Tracey Small were booked Jan. 12 at Caddo...
Oneonta, N.Y. Business Owner Pleads Gulity to Insurance Fraud
Jan 11 2007 // Jeffrey Gelbsman, an Oneonta, N.Y. businessman, has pled guilty to fourth-degree insurance fraud related to a fire that occurred at Monser Brothers Tire Sales, Inc. in Oneonta in August 2002, according to Acting...
101 Indicted in Calif. Insurance Fraud Sting
Jan 11 2007 // A two-year undercover sting operation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has resulted in 101 indictments, of which 88 have been arrested to date. Following a tip from a confidential informant, an...
W. Va. Man Jailed, Indicted on Insurance Fraud Charge
Jan 9 2007 // Reynoldsville, W. Va., resident Carl Lee Gallo was indicted last week on one felony count of attempting to secure workers compensation benefits in excess of $1,000, according to officials. The 67 year old Gallo is...
Calif. Insurance Commissioner Poizner Sworn In
Jan 9 2007 // Steve Poizner took the Oath of Office Monday afternoon, becoming California’s new Insurance Commissioner. During his remarks, Poizner vowed to make the office bi-partisan, lower insurance rates by combatting fraud,...
Six Arrested in Calif. Insurance Fraud Scheme, 16 Others Wanted
Jan 8 2007 // Eighty-six people have been arrested on suspicion of bilking insurance companies out of more than $500,000, one of California’s largest ever insurance fraud cases, the district attorney’s office said. The 86...
Ky. Law Enforcement Veteran to Lead Insurance Fraud Unit
Jan 8 2007 // A former chief of police in Louisville has been appointed director of the Insurance Fraud Investigation Division of the Kentucky Office of Insurance. Eugene Sherrard began his career in 1971 as a dispatcher for the...
Enron’s legacies and directors’ and officers’ risk
Jan 8 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...
