Latest Fraud Headlines
All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Best’s Report Sees Identity Theft Becoming Standalone Personal Cyber Insurance
Nov 15 2019 // The role of identity theft insurance as a supplemental product could evolve as personal cyber risks become more of a threat as technology proliferates further into individuals’ lives, according to a new A.M. Best...
FBI Warns on Rise in Sophisticated Cyber Crimes
Nov 14 2019 // On Dec. 14, 2018, Aaron Cole was about to buy a new house and received an email that he thought was from his title company, directing him to make a $123,000 deposit. Cole complied, not realizing that a sophisticated hacker...
Ringleader of Family Arson Crew in California Pleads Guilty in $4M Operation
Nov 13 2019 // Tyler Chen, 48, pleaded guilty this week in the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California following his arrest on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and arson for his role in setting fires in a $4 million...
Texas Insurance Industry, Local Police Team Up for Vehicle Crime Prevention
Nov 8 2019 // Auto burglaries and thefts affect over 250,000 motorists each year in Texas resulting in more than $1 billion in losses according to the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVPCA). Now through a program sponsored by...
Ex-Tennessee Agent Indicted On More Than 70 Charges, Accused of Premium Theft
Nov 8 2019 // A former insurance agent, political campaign treasurer and Tennessee Republican Party committeewoman, is accused of stealing from her father’s campaign and pocketing insurance money from policyholders who used her...
South Carolina Man Arrested for Stealing $700K from 10 HOAs
Nov 7 2019 // Authorities in South Carolina say a man has been accused of stealing more than $700,000 from 10 separate homeowners associations. News outlets report 39-year-old Nicholas Galipeau turned himself in Wednesday and was...
Ohio Woman Ordered to Repay $41K After Workers’ Comp Fraud Conviction
Nov 5 2019 // A Cincinnati, Ohio, woman must repay the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) nearly $41,000 after being convicted of workers’ compensation fraud. The BWC reported that Michelle D. Smith, 57, pleaded...
Georgia Mother, Son Accused of Stealing $3M from Beer Distributor Employer
Nov 5 2019 // Authorities say a mother and son who worked for a Georgia alcohol distributor embezzled more than $3 million from their employer over a decade. Sheriff’s investigators in Bibb County, Georgia, arrested 72-year-old...
New York Man Charged with Insurance Fraud After False Stolen Vehicle Claim
Nov 5 2019 // A 36-year-old Queens, N.Y., man has been charged with insurance fraud, attempted grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly claiming his McLaren sports car had been stolen and filing a false insurance claim in an attempt...
Alabama Court Gives Go Ahead to Workers Comp Suit Against AIG, Coventry
Nov 4 2019 // An Alabama appellate court has cleared the way for a lawsuit that alleges outrageous and fraudulent conduct by American International Group and Coventry against a worker who was injured in an explosion and sought...
California Agent Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $148K, Leaving Clie…
Nov 4 2019 // Insurance agent Stephen Mark Gomez, 64, of Lake View Terrace, Calif., was arraigned last month on eight felony counts of grand theft and embezzlement after allegedly collecting over $148,000 in insurance premium payments...
3 Kentucky Farmers Plead Guilty to Crop Insurance Fraud
Nov 1 2019 // Three Kentucky farmers have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to crop insurance fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Lexington says 34-year-old Bradley Price pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money...
Scammers Swindle Florida City Out of Nearly $750K With Fraudulent Invoice
Nov 1 2019 // Police say scammers posing as a local construction company doing business with a north Florida city got an employee to change information that sent $742,376 to a fraudulent bank account. The Ocala Star-Banner reports a...
Idaho Man Sentenced for Insurance Fraud With Fictitious Golf Club Receipts
Oct 30 2019 // An Idaho man has been nailed for insurance fraud using fictitious golf club receipts. David Gress appeared at the Canyon County District Court this week and was sentenced for insurance fraud. Gress pled guilty in August to...
Two Georgia Suspects Arrested, Charged With Defrauding Lemonade Insurance Company
Oct 30 2019 // Two Georgia suspects have been arrested and charged for allegedly defrauding Lemonade Insurance Company. Special Agents in the Criminal Investigations Division at the Georgia Department of Insurance assisted with the...
Men Charged with Stealing New Tractors Worth $80K from Louisiana Business
Oct 29 2019 // Two men have been charged with stealing two new tractors from a Many, La., business. The estimated value of both tractors is $80,000. Stephan Morton, (38) of Shreveport, La., and Michael Bayonne (41) of Alexandria, La.,...
Iowa Revokes License of Arizona Insurance Agent Over Annuity Fraud Scheme
Oct 28 2019 // An Arizona insurance agent has lost his Iowa insurance license and is barred for reapplying for 10 years after the Iowa Insurance Division found he fleeced elderly Iowa residents. The division said in a news release that...
Five Indicted in Louisiana for Staged Accident Insurance Fraud Scheme
Oct 28 2019 // Five defendants have been indicted in Louisiana for an alleged insurance fraud involving a staged vehicular accident scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says. Damian K. Labeaud and Lucinda Thomas of New Orleans, and...
California Agent Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $148K, Leaving Client Uninsured
Oct 28 2019 // Insurance agent Stephen Mark Gomez, 64, of Lake View Terrace, Calif., was arraigned last week on eight felony counts of grand theft and embezzlement after allegedly collecting over $148,000 in insurance premium payments...
Connecticut Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing $370K from Former Employer
Oct 28 2019 // A Connecticut woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling about $370,000 from her former employer. Federal prosecutors say 36-year-old Lydia Cabrera, of Southington, pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Authorities say Cabrera was a...
