Maryland Woman Got $58K From USAA on Fake Water Claim. So She Tried Again

A Maryland woman pleaded guilty to defrauding USAA Insurance out of more than $58,000 in water damage claims by using faked invoices and photos. She was sentenced this week to five years in prison, but a judge suspended all but 45 days of the incarceration time.

Rhonda K. Jackson, 39, of Upper Marlboro, also known as Rhonda Powell, had admitted that she submitted fraudulent claims in 2020 about contrived water damage from a broken pipe in the home she rented. USAA paid $58,373 on the claim for damaged furniture, electronics and clothing, the Maryland attorney general explained in a bulletin this week.

Then, in 2022, the woman tried again, submitting a claim for $124,034. USAA denied the claim and referred the matter for investigation after the carrier determined that she had never reported the water leaks to her landlord, the invoices and receipts she submitted in both claims had been fabricated or altered, and photos she provided had actually come from the internet, AG Anthony Brown said.

After the investigation and after Jackson/Powell was charged, she pleaded guilty in October to felony insurance fraud. Judge Lawrence Hill suspended most of her sentence, but the woman is required to pay $58,737 in restitution to USAA.

Brown said his office was involved in the investigation, as well as Maryland Insurance Administration investigator Edward Spragg and forensic auditor Suzzanne Jones.

Topics Maryland