Latest Fraud Headlines

All the headlines from our Fraud Topic Page, ordered by recency.

South Carolina Sentences Men for Severed Hand Fraud Scheme

Dec 19 2012 // A South Carolina judge has sentenced the 58-year-old ringleader of a scheme to cut off the hand of a mentally disabled man to collect insurance money. Federal prosecutors said David Player controlled the man’s...

UBS Admits Fraud in Libor Rigging Scheme; To Pay $1.5 Billion Fine

Dec 19 2012 // Swiss bank UBS swallowed a $1.5 billion fine and admitted to fraud on Wednesday after a global probe revealed its staff orchestrated the manipulation of benchmark interest rates over three continents.UBS traders colluded...

Tennessee Business Owner Indicted for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud

Dec 18 2012 // Tennessee authorities announced recently that a Memphis business owner had been indicted for alleged workers’ compensation fraud.The state grand jury for Shelby County indicted Richard Nobles for four counts of...

Louisiana Used Car Dealer Sentenced in Odometer Fraud Scheme

Dec 17 2012 // Beau Michael Guidry of Baton Rouge, La., has been sentenced in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded victims in and around Louisiana, the Justice Department announced.U.S. District Judge for the...

Vegas Police Officer Accused Of Workers Comp Fraud

Dec 17 2012 // Authorities say a veteran Las Vegas traffic officer has been suspended without pay following his arrest on felony fraud charges in a workers’ compensation case that has now been turned over to the Nevada attorney...

Cyber criminals will continue to find new ways to attack in 2013

Dec 17 2012 // This issue identifies certain developments insurance professionals can expect in the new year. Beyond those mentioned in the articles in this issue, there is one thing everyone can expect that would require its own...

Oklahoma Insurance Department: Police Chiefs Support Armed Investigators

Dec 14 2012 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department faced intense criticism after a report revealed it spent more than $180,000 on high-tech shotguns, bulletproof vests and seven police-package vehicles for its anti-fraud unit. Now, the...

Profile: Workers’ Comp Fraud Expert Takes Old School Approach

Dec 12 2012 // When a Southern California family was convicted of workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud, it wasn’t due to sophisticated software, a supercomputer or even high-tech surveillance techniques.It was the...

U.S. SEC Charges N.J.-based Consultant with Fraud in Chinese Reverse Mergers

Dec 12 2012 // U.S. securities regulators charged a New Jersey-based consultant on Tuesday with defrauding investors in the China-based companies he helped make public through a backdoor method known as a “reverse merger.”The...

Chubb Launches Cyber Endorsement Addressing Bank Account Takeover Frauds

Dec 11 2012 // The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has launched a new endorsement to help protect community banks from a more than three-fold increase in fraudulent online commercial transactions. The new endorsement to the ForeFront...

Insurance Fraud Allegations Up in Ohio

Dec 11 2012 // Officials say the record number of insurance-fraud allegations in Ohio this year can be partly attributed to better reporting of suspected incidents and difficult economic times that push some people into illegal...

Ohio Launches Online Registry to Cut Scrap Metal Thefts

Dec 10 2012 // Ohio has created an online registry to try to cut down on scrap metal thefts.The online registry of scrap metal and bulk merchandise dealers is part of Ohio’s Homeland Security Website. It’s designed to crack...

Detroit to Lay Off 5% of Workforce; Investigate Insurance, Work Comp Fraud

Dec 10 2012 // Detroit officials say they’re making plans to lay off 400 to 500 city employees in the new year, roughly 5 percent of the workforce. The disclosure was made Dec. 7 as Mayor Dave Bing said he has enough votes in the...

Former Brooke Corp. Execs Again Indicted on Financial Fraud Charges

Dec 7 2012 // Two former executives of the now defunct insurance agency franchising firm, Brooke Corp., have been indicted on federal financial fraud charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas.A federal grand jury...

From Ashes of Penn. Estate Rises a Lawsuit for $20M Insurance Proceeds

Dec 4 2012 // The 53-page document reads more like a screenplay than a lawsuit. If Jerald Batoff’s claim is true, that’s how it may end up.More than seven months after his historic Main Line home, a 24,000-square-foot estate...

Oklahoma Commissioner: Weapons Necessary for Safety of Anti-Fraud Unit

Dec 4 2012 // Defending his agency’s expenditures on weapons and police vehicles for use by its anti-fraud unit, Oklahoma’s top insurance regulator said the purchases help ensure the safety of investigators and are not paid...

Florida Prison Guard Charged with $2.7 Million Workers’ Comp Fraud

Dec 3 2012 // A former Florida prison guard is free on bond after being charged with faking illness to fraudulently collect more than $2.7 million in workers’ compensation.Authorities said David Brownell was arrested last week in...

Oklahoma Insurance Department Spends $180K on Guns, Police Vehicles

Dec 3 2012 // The Oklahoma Insurance Department spent more than $180,000 on high-tech shotguns, bulletproof vests and seven police-package vehicles that agency officials say were needed as part of its expanded focus on criminal...

Theft and Vandalism Claims Have Carriers on Edge in Vacant Property Segment

Dec 3 2012 // Insurers are restricting the availability of theft and vandalism coverage in the vacant property insurance market, where there is still plenty of available business.Vacant property provided a boost for some insurers...

French Court Clears Continental of Criminal Liability for 2000 Concorde Crash

Nov 30 2012 // Continental Airlines was cleared on Thursday of criminal responsibility for the Concorde crash in Paris in 2000 that killed 113 people, with a French court also absolving a mechanic at the U.S. airline of involuntary...