Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Farm Worker Arraigned for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud
Sep 22 2020 // Eduardo Medina Ruelas, 46, of Sanger, Calif., was arraigned this week on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud after allegedly defrauding his employer and RISICO Claims Management Co. to collect $38,000 in...
Data of About 200K Nevada University Alumni, Donors May Have Been Stolen
Sep 21 2020 // University of Nevada, Reno alumni and donors may have had their information stolen in a data breach that occurred in May, university officials said. The school was told of the breach on July 16 by Blackbaud, a third-party...
New York Charges Johnson & Johnson with Insurance Fraud Over Opioid Claims
Sep 18 2020 // New York state filed civil charges on Thursday accusing Johnson & Johnson of insurance fraud for downplaying the risks of opioid painkillers, including to doctors and elderly patients. Governor Andrew Cuomo said the...
Florida’s Citizens Urges Insureds to Avoid Fraud, Scams After Hurricane Sally
Sep 18 2020 // In an effort to help insureds avoid falling victim to scams and abuse, as well as to speed up the claims process, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is urging its policyholders to “Call Citizens First” as they...
Rental Car Company to Pay $80K in Penalties, Implement Reforms Over Fraud Allegations
Sep 17 2020 // A discount car rental company operating out of Newark and JFK Airports has agreed to pay $80,000 in penalties, enter binding arbitration to resolve consumer complaints and change its policies and practices following New...
Pennsylvania Authorities Arrest Alleged Fraud Network Participants
Sep 15 2020 // Pennsylvania authorities filed criminal charges on July 13 in Dauphin County against Kenneth Torres, Louis Torres, Ruth Negron-Acevedo, Juan Lopez-Barco and Philadelphia-based businesses EZ Multi-Services and Saul Auto...
Florida Couple Accused of Hurricane Irma Disaster Assistance Fraud
Sep 15 2020 // A Florida husband and wife have been charged with lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Christina Catalano, 38, and Joseph Catalano, 54, both of Holiday, were arrested Sept. 9, according to federal court...
California Ag Firm Owner, Daughter Arraigned in $2.5M Workers’ Comp Scheme
Sep 14 2020 // Felipe Saurez Barocio, 63, of Atwater, owner of Agriculture Services Inc., and his daughter, Angelita Barocio-Negrete, 33, of Merced, were arraigned today on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly...
Ex-Iowa City Development Aide Gets Prison for Theft; Must Repay Nonprofit, Insurer
Sep 14 2020 // The former office manager of the Iowa City Area Development Group was sentenced Friday to 27 months in prison for a 13-year theft scheme in which she misspent more than a half-million dollars, federal prosecutors...
Data About 200K Nevada University Alumni, Donors May Have Been Stolen
Sep 14 2020 // University of Nevada, Reno alumni and donors may have had their information stolen in a data breach that occurred in May, university officials said. The school was told of the breach on July 16 by Blackbaud, a third-party...
Hurricane Irma’s ‘Last Gasp’: 3-Year Claims Deadline Put to the Test
Sep 10 2020 // It’s been 3 years since Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, and the trail of damage left in its wake is still being felt across the state today, particularly by the insurance industry as it...
Alabama Warns of Increase in Cybercrime During Pandemic
Sep 8 2020 // State securities officials say cybercrime including email attacks are on the rise during the pandemic, and they’re warning people to be careful online. A statement from the Alabama Securities Commission says social...
CDI: 3 Charged with Auto Insurance Fraud, Forgery in California
Sep 7 2020 // Three Californians have been charged with multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and forgery for allegedly filing fraudulent insurance claims on a former employee’s policy and intercepting insurance checks to...
Louisiana Insurance Producer Accused of Forgery, Fraud
Sep 2 2020 // A Monroe, La., insurance producer has been served with a cease and desist order alleging various unauthorized actions including false information on insurance applications, altering or forging names on checks and...
VP Pence Advisor Troye Joins Insurance Crime Bureau
Sep 1 2020 // Olivia Troye, who most recently served as the homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, has joined the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) as the association’s vice president of...
Drones Help Insurance Companies Check Windstorm Damage in Iowa
Aug 31 2020 // Insurance adjusters who descended on Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after the Aug. 10 derecho storm are using drones to check roofs and asking homeowners with less severe damage to take their own photos. Some of this is due to the...
FBI Recovers $3M in Stolen Ventilators in South Florida
Aug 28 2020 // A $3 million shipment of ventilators stolen that was stolen earlier this month was recovered in South Florida, the FBI said in a news release. The agency said the ventilators were being prepared for shipment to El Salvador...
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to $1M Virus Fraud Scheme
Aug 27 2020 // A northern Virginia man has pleaded guilty to a $1.4 million fraud scheme to obtain federal funds meant for businesses struggling under the coronavirus pandemic. Tarik Jaafar, 42, of Woodbridge, admitted in U.S. District...
CDI: 3 Charged with Auto Insurance Fraud, Forgery in California
Aug 25 2020 // Three Californians have been charged with multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and forgery for allegedly filing fraudulent insurance claims on a former employee’s policy and intercepting insurance checks to...
Experts Puzzled by Decline in Insurance Fraud Tips via Technology
Aug 25 2020 // Even though insurers have invested heavily in fraud-fighting technology, the percentage of referrals from automated systems accepted by special investigation units has declined to 15 percent from 22 percent in the past two...
