Latest Fraud Headlines

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

Mechanic Charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide in Fatal NYC Elevator Plunge

May 5 2023 // An elevator mechanic’s failure to execute basic safety procedures caused an elevator at a New York City building to plunge six stories and crush a co-worker to death, prosecutors said Tuesday.Mechanic Peter Milatz,...

California Family Members Arraigned in $2.1M Insurance Fraud Schemes

May 4 2023 // Four Merced, California, family members were arraigned this week for multiple counts of insurance fraud after a California Department of Insurance investigation revealed the businesses owned and operated by the residents...

Massachusetts Man Sentenced in Luxury Car Insurance Fraud Scheme

May 3 2023 // A Holbrook, Massachusetts man has been found guilty and sentenced to two and a half years in the Norfolk House of Correction for damaging luxury cars bought under false pretenses in order to collect insurance...

Manhattan DA Brings Charges in Alleged Affordable Housing Construction Fraud

May 3 2023 // Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced indictments charging eight individuals and six companies with fraud and corruption within the construction industry, including conspiring to fraudulently use...

UK to Ban Cold Calls Selling Insurance and Crypto to Clamp Down on Fraud

May 3 2023 // The UK is to set to ban cold calls that sell financial products including insurance and cryptocurrencies in an effort to crack down on fraud, which costs the country around £7 billion ($8.7 billion) a year.Announcing its...

New Jersey Man Pleads Not Guilty to Multistate Car Theft and Resale Scheme

May 3 2023 // A former Bergen County, New Jersey man has been charged with running a large, multistate car theft and fraud ring.U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger reported that Warren Guerrier, formerly of Hackensack, New Jersey, pleaded...

Ex-CFO Gets 3 Years Prison for Stealing From SPACs to Trade Meme Stocks, Crypto

May 1 2023 // A former chief financial officer of multiple special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling more than $5 million from them, and losing almost all of it trading meme...

Georgia Sheriff’s Chief of Staff Charged with Insurance Fraud in ‘Hit-and-Run’ Claim

May 1 2023 // The chief of staff for an Atlanta-area sheriff has been charged with insurance fraud after an investigation found that he had lied about the circumstances of an accident.Braxton Tyree Cotton, 41, a major in the Cobb County...

Court Reinstates Criminal Charges Against Veterans’ Home Officials Over COVID Policies

May 1 2023 // Massachusetts’ highest court overruled a lower court judge Thursday and reinstated criminal neglect charges against two top former officials at a veterans’ home. Nearly 80 veterans died at the Veterans’...

Louisiana Lawmakers Kill Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana

Apr 27 2023 // BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A bill to decriminalize marijuana in Louisiana was short- lived, swiftly dying in committee Tuesday before ever reaching the House floor for debate this legislative session.Democratic state...

New York Lawyers, Doctor Sentenced in $31 Million Trip-and-Fall Insurance Fraud

Apr 27 2023 // A New York surgeon and two lawyers are the latest professionals to be sentenced for their roles in a massive massive trip-and-fall fraud scheme between 2013 and 2018 that exploited some of the most vulnerable citizens of...

Thefts Prompt 17 States to Urge Recall of Kia, Hyundai Cars

Apr 24 2023 // Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media...

Iowa Man, Woman Sentenced for Insurance Fraud Scheme

Apr 21 2023 // Following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, a Jasper County man and woman have pled guilty to insurance fraud.Jarod Hirbar, age 44, of Kellogg, pled guilty on April 17, 2023, to one...

Capita Warns Customer Data May Have Been Stolen in Cyber Attack

Apr 21 2023 // Capita Plc, one of the UK’s biggest outsourcing companies, said that customer data may have been stolen during a recent cyberattack.There is “currently some evidence of limited data exfiltration from the small...

Sin or Crime? Inquiry Targets Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Handling of Child Sex Abuse

Apr 21 2023 // A Pennsylvania grand jury in recent months accused nine men with connections to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of child sexual abuse in what some consider the nation’s most comprehensive investigation yet into abuse...

Judge Allows Roberto Clemente Jr. Agency Fraud Claim Against Allstate

Apr 19 2023 // The son of the late Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente alleges that Allstate Insurance Co. committed fraud when it cancelled his family agency’s agreement after accusing them of fraud for using auto...

California Workers’ Comp Fraud Task Force Uncovers $1.6M in Unreported Payroll

Apr 18 2023 // California private security company owner Luis Burgos, 50, and his former business partner, Sohan Singh, 57, were charged for their alleged involvement in a workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme after an...

Florida Insurance Agent Sentenced to 14 Years for Premium Fraud

Apr 17 2023 // More than 18 months after he pleaded guilty to absconding with almost $5 million in premiums, a Florida insurance agent has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.John M. Thomas, 52, the former owner of Thomas Insurance...

Man Agrees to Plead Guilty in Basquiat Artwork Fraud Scheme

Apr 14 2023 // A former Los Angeles auctioneer has agreed to plead guilty in a cross-country art fraud scheme where he created fake artwork and falsely attributed the paintings to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, federal prosecutors said...

Federal Law Preempts Stolen Cargo Claim by Insurer Against Florida Transport Broker

Apr 14 2023 // Landstar Ranger, a transportation broker based in Jacksonville, sent a truck driver who called himself “James” to pick up cargo in Colorado for delivery to Maryland.A dispatcher authorized the pickup even...