View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2016/02/04/397563.htm
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens announced the arrests of six Colquitt County residents and a Clayton County woman involved in a staged insurance fraud ring. A joint investigation by Hudgens’ Insurance Fraud Division and Fire Investigation Unit revealed the suspects staged numerous fires, residential burglaries and automobile vandalisms with the sole intent to commit insurance fraud for financial gain.
Arrested and booked into the Colquitt County Jail were Ricky Lewis Forrest, 26, KaNaya McGee, 35, Diana McGee, 55, Cachea Jones, 25, Shikia Latimore, 21 and Lvariaus King, 24, all of Moultrie, Georgia.
Also arrested and being held in the Clayton County Jail is Doris Ann Buie, 49, of College Park, Georgia.
The investigation revealed that between January 2013 and December 2015, the suspects staged more than 24 incidents and received claim settlements from Allstate, Assurant, GEICO and Georgia Farm Bureau insurance companies totaling $392,000.
Each suspect is facing numerous charges including first degree arson, insurance fraud, theft by deception, identity fraud, forgery and making false statements.
“Not only did these individuals endanger the lives of others by setting fires, they also committed insurance fraud, a crime that costs Georgians thousands of dollars each year,” Commissioner Hudgens said. “I’m proud of the work done by my office, the Moultrie Fire Department and Colquitt County’s law enforcement professionals to bring these individuals to justice.”
Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000.
First‐degree arson is a felony with a penalty of five to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000.
Source: Georgia Department of Insurance Fraud