Latest Fraud Headlines

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

After Helping Shepherd Pandemic Loans, Banks Now Brace for Regulatory Risks

Oct 21 2020 // Banks that facilitated the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Program at first saw the effort as a small revenue booster with a patriotic bonus, shepherding $525 billion in loans to businesses slammed by the...

Ex-Police Chief in Washington Turned Pinup Model Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud

Oct 19 2020 // A Snohomish County, Wash., woman faces two charges of making false or misleading statements to collect more than $67,000 in workers’ compensation benefits from the Washington State Department of Labor &...

Louisianans Warned of Contractor Fraud Following Dual Hurricanes

Oct 16 2020 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and State Representative Jonathan Goudeau are warning residents affected by Hurricanes Laura and Delta that both the Louisiana Department of Insurance and Rep. Goudeau’s...

Maryland Auto Insurance Launches New Auto Insurance Fraud Initiative

Oct 16 2020 // Maryland Auto Insurance has launched an initiative aimed at combatting auto insurance fraud in Maryland.This comes as the FBI projects insurance fraud accounts for more than $40 billion in costs annually, according to a...

Top 10 Stolen Vehicles; Ford Beats Honda

Oct 15 2020 // Car thieves have a new favorite target: the Ford full-size pickup. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s latest “Hot Wheels” report, which includes crime data from across the country, Ford...

Berkshire Hathaway Sues Law Firm It Says Aided $756 Million M&A Fraud

Oct 15 2020 // A unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. claims a top international law firm helped German piping component maker Wilhelm Schulz GmbH fraudulently conceal its disastrous finances before its 2017 acquisition...

California Insurance Agent, Unlicensed Employee Arraigned for Alleged Fraud

Oct 13 2020 // Insurance agent Brenda Cervantes, 31, of Oxnard, Calif., and unlicensed employee Edith Arellano-Quinones, 39, of Ojai, were arraigned on Tuesday on misdemeanor counts of insurance fraud after allegedly selling auto...

Ohio Man Owes $141.5K After Second Workers’ Comp Fraud Conviction

Oct 13 2020 // An Ohio man who pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to workers’ compensation fraud charges has been ordered to repay $141,578 in restitution and spend six months in jail, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC)...

Washington Meter Reader Who Got $186K Accused of Stealing Workers’ Comp Money

Oct 12 2020 // A meter reader who was attacked by a dog while on duty and collected years of workers’ compensation is now accused of stealing the money, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries said.Linda Jordan of...

Florida Construction Owner Accused of Not Paying $95K in Workers’ Comp Premiums

Oct 9 2020 // A construction company owner was arrested last month for workers’ compensation premium fraud after allegedly concealing payroll information to avoid paying more than $95,000 in workers’ compensation...

6 Stolen Vintage Vehicles Recovered in Minnesota

Oct 7 2020 // St. Paul, Minn., police said they have recovered six collector cars stolen from a body shop and are searching for suspects. The vintage vehicles were found abandoned in a wooded area of Woodbury, St. Paul police spokesman...

Remote Work: Protecting Against Employee Crime

Oct 5 2020 // The business landscape has changed drastically over the past several months as the world has struggled to combat and adapt to a global health crisis. Many organizations successfully pivoted their workforce to remote work,...

Texas’ Blue Bell Creameries to Pay $17.25M in Criminal Penalties for Listeria Outbreak

Oct 5 2020 // Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries L.P. has been ordered to pay $17.25 million in criminal penalties for shipments of contaminated ice cream products linked to a 2015 listeriosis outbreak, according to the U.S. Justice...

New Jersey Man Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Role in Insurance Fraud Scheme

Oct 2 2020 // A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in an automobile accident scheme supporting fraudulent insurance claims.Luis G. Aguirre, of Hudson County, N.J., was sentenced for his...

California Nursery Worker Arraigned for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud

Oct 2 2020 // Fernando Torres Garcia, 46, self-surrendered and was arraigned at the Kern County Superior Court in California this week on nearly a dozen felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting an injury in order...

Judges Dismisses $18M in Liens Filed by California Medical Provider Convicted of Fraud

Oct 1 2020 // An administrative law judge in California has dismissed liens valued at $18 million filed by convicted medical provider Michael E. Barri, bringing to a close one of the earliest cases aimed at combatting fraud in...

Cease and Desist Order Issued for Louisiana Agent for Alleged Premium Theft

Oct 1 2020 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance has issued a cease and desist order and summary suspension of producers license to a Lake Charles, La., agent for alleged misappropriation of premium funds. Valerie M. Muse reportedly...

Police Report $1M in Jewelry Stolen from Georgia Kay Jewelers Store

Sep 30 2020 // Police say $1 million worth of jewelry has been stolen from a store in coastal Georgia.WTOC-TV reports the heist took place before dawn Friday at Kay Jewelers in Hinesville. Officers responded to an alarm at the store, but...

Dismissal Rejected; Arkema Chemical Fire Criminal Trial Resumes in Houston

Sep 25 2020 // A criminal case against the U.S. arm of a French chemical maker accused of releasing pollution that injured 21 people resumed on Sept. 24 under a cloud as a judge ruled out a motion to dismiss the case.Prosecutors...

Michigan Man Faces Felony Charges Over Alleged Fake Auto Insurance Certificates

Sep 23 2020 // A formerly licensed insurance agent in Flint, Michigan, faces multiple felony charges for allegedly selling fraudulent automobile insurance certificates.The Michigan Department of Financial Services (DIFS) said 24-year old...