The Criminal Investigations Branch Investigators of the California Department of Insurance (CDI) announced a successful conclusion to a complicated investigation. Two individuals involved in a life insurance scam pleaded guilty.
Raul Eduardo Pero, a.k.a. Paul Terry Reed, 58, plead guilty to 14 counts of felony insurance fraud. His daughter, Liza Monique Pero, 25, pled guilty to 10 counts of felony insurance fraud. They will be sentenced June 28. A third suspect, Gloria Alcaraz, has requested a preliminary hearing.
CDI Fraud Investigators discovered that from Jan. 9, 1995 to March 1, 1997, Raul Pero obtained life insurance policies from seven different companies totaling $3,150,000. Pero did not accept a policy through First Colony Life for $700,000 and canceled a policy issued by Zurich Kemper Life valued at $500,000. Excluding these two policies, Pero still had $1,950,000 worth of life insurance policies from six different companies. He listed his daughters, Shannon and Liza Pero, nephew Joseph Kreitinger, and girlfriend as benefactors.
The investigation of documents, specifically from West Coast Life Insurance Company, indicate that Gloria Alcaraz (Raul’s roommate) notified the company of Raul Pero’s alleged death. The policies from six companies were in effect at the time and claims were made for death benefits. Alcaraz notified West Coast Life Insurance Company of Raul’s alleged death prior to the date of death listed on the death certificate.
The death certificate was submitted after the initial telephone call. None of the insurance companies paid any benefits to the claimants because the fraudulent scheme was uncovered. The death certificate from Santiago, Chile, stated Raul Pero died from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. It was reported to the insurance companies he died of natural causes. The FBI aided in obtaining Chilean authorities’ cooperation to exhume Pero’s gravesite. The coffin was empty.
Though insurance companies were aware of the false claims, they did not discover until the investigation was underway that Raul Eduardo Pero had the alias of Paul Terry Reed. Raul Pero actually corresponded with insurance companies under the guise of Reed telling the companies he was Pero’s stepbrother. Raul Pero applied for a passport under the name Paul Terry Reed, a man who died in an auto accident in 1968 at 18 years old.
Topics Fraud
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