OKLA. INVESTIGATOR LAUDED:

Arizona officials credited an investigator from the Oklahoma Insurance Department with cracking a case involving the sales of fake bonds across the nation, according to Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. The bonds were being sold from Arizona but some ended up in Oklahoma. Leslie Landwert, an investigator for the OID, alerted Arizona officials to the problem in which a Phoenix woman is alleged to have sold numerous bonds, including some to auto dealerships in Oklahoma. Diana Greene is currently in a Phoenix jail awaiting trial on numerous felony counts. In February, Fisher ordered Greene to stop selling bonds in Oklahoma. In May, he warned Oklahomans that she might be continuing to sell bonds with little more than a fraudulent off-shore company and an Internet site. At that time, officials knew of more than $1.5 million in unpaid claims, and since that time, more have been found. In a letter to the OID, Arizona officials said Landwert’s work was an “important factor” in the investigation. Terry Cooper, Fraud Division chief for the Arizona Department of Insurance awarded Landwert a Certificate of Outstanding Performance for her work in the matter.

Topics Oklahoma