Latest Fraud Headlines

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

New York Hotel Worker Charged with Workers Compensation Fraud

Oct 28 2008 // A 49-year-old Nassau County, New York woman has been arrested on charges of fraudulently collecting $20,000 in workers’ compensation benefits, the New York State Insurance Department reported.Maria Escobar, of Valley...

Montana Sheriff Candidate Faces Fraud Charge

Oct 28 2008 // Criminal charges have been filed in the Second Judicial District Court in Butte, Mont., alleging Ben Thielen committed theft by insurance fraud. The charges were filed by Special Deputy County Attorney for Butte-Silver...

Texas EMT Sentenced in Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Oct 27 2008 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County district court sentenced Michael J. Rosenberg of McAllen, Texas, on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. Rosenberg’s sentence included two...

California Commissioner Announces 5% Workers’ Comp Rate Increase

Oct 24 2008 // Rejecting the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s (WCIRB) call for a 16 percent increase in the benchmark for determining workers’ compensation costs, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner...

Jury Seated in Pennsylvania Judge’s Fraud Trial

Oct 23 2008 // Six men and six women have been selected as jurors in the federal fraud trial of a retired Pennsylvania appellate judge in Pittsburgh and opening statements are expected to begin. Ex-Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce is...

Jury Picks, Opening on Tap in Fraud Trial of Former Pennsylvania Judge

Oct 22 2008 // Jury selection is expected to wrap up in the federal fraud trial of a retired Pennsylvania appellate judge in Pittsburgh.Retired Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce is charged with mail fraud and money laundering because...

U.S., New York Officials Probe Credit Default Swap Market

Oct 21 2008 // Federal and New York state prosecutors have launched an investigation of the credit default swap market, inquiring whether speculators had manipulated CDS transaction data to put more pressure on the shares of banks...

Arizona Hosts Insurance Fraud Summit

Oct 21 2008 // The price tag of fraudulent property and casualty insurance claims nationally is about 10 percent of insured losses,” said Ron Williams, executive director of the Arizona Insurance Council. That was one figure that...

Insurance Fraud Case Set for Ex-Pennsylvania Judge

Oct 20 2008 // After a fender-bender in 2001, a Pennsylvania appellate judge claimed he was left in constant pain, unable to golf or swim or even at times hold a cup of coffee steady.Yet the following year, prosecutors say, he was...

North Carolina Insurance Investigators Thwart Alleged Auto Accident Ring

Oct 15 2008 // North Carolina Department of Insurance investigators arrested five Halifax County residents for their roles in what investigators are calling an auto insurance fraud ring that netted the accused more than $25,550 in...

Crime Prevention Program Comes to Texas/Mexico Border

Oct 15 2008 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) has joined with the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority and the Del Rio, Laredo and Brownville Police Departments in a crime prevention campaign aimed at preventing...

American National Aiding Clients of Former Agent Accused of Premium Theft

Oct 10 2008 // Galveston, Texas-based American National Insurance Company and its subsidiary, American National Property and Casualty Company learned shortly after Hurricane Ike that one of its agents had failed to forward to the Texas...

Is ID Theft Insurance Worth Recommending to Agency Clients?

Oct 9 2008 // A client concerned about identity theft might consider moving to the Dakotas.It’s best to stay away, however, from Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and New York. All of these states reported that more than...

Wausau Signature Agency Forms Alliance to Combat Construction Theft

Oct 8 2008 // Wausau Signature Agency (WSA) recently announced it has entered into an alliance with the National Equipment Register (NER) to help WSA clients combat the growing problem of construction equipment theft by registering...

West Virginia Insurance Commission Employee Info on Stolen Laptop

Oct 8 2008 // A laptop containing personal information about more than 500 state employees in West Virginia is now in the hands of a thief.Department of Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley says the laptop was taken from an...

North Dakota Agent Pleads Not Guilty to 78 Counts of Fraud

Oct 6 2008 // A Fargo insurance agent has pleaded not guilty to stealing more than $5 million from clients. Larry Atkins is charged with 78 felony counts, including engaging in fraudulent practices and selling unregistered securities....

Seattle To Provide Asian Communities With Fraud Prevention Tools

Oct 6 2008 // Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and five interpreters are planning to help educate Seattle’s Asian communities about fraud prevention.McKenna’s office, the Asian Pacific American Resource Network...

ID Theft Insurance: Oasis or Mirage?

Oct 6 2008 // A client concerned about identity theft might consider moving to the Dakotas. It’s best to stay away, however, from Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Florida and New York. All of these states reported that more...

Massachusetts Crackdown on Insurance Fraud Sets Milestones

Oct 3 2008 // Five years after the creation of Massachusetts’ first local anti-insurance fraud team, the state’s Insurance Fraud Bureau says the combined local task forces have charged over 1,000 people with insurance...

Kansas Man Convicted of Insurance Fraud Files for Bankruptcy

Oct 3 2008 // A man convicted in five Kansas counties of selling insurance to elderly residents but pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in premiums has filed for bankruptcy.The Chapter 7 filing by Ronald Hummel of Hutchinson could...