Fraud Roundup

Cattle claims result in fraud allegations

Oklahoma Insurance Department anti-fraud investigators allege that Holly Timmons Campbell committed insurance fraud by filing fraudulent cattle loss claims in Pontotoc County, according to Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland.

Criminal charges were filed against Timmons Campbell by Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson.

It is alleged that Timmons Campbell submitted fictitious insurance claims while she worked for the Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction (SOLA). As part of her job at SOLA, Timmons Campbell would view incoming cattle and provide a sales ticket documenting the weight and description of each head of cattle. Timmons was also responsible for submitting insurance claims on behalf of cattle owners.

Following a phone tip, the Oklahoma Department of Insurance Anti-Fraud Unit initiated an investigation leading to the discovery of 66 checks Timmons Campbell cashed from Star Insurance Company totaling more than $40,000.

The Anti-Fraud Unit obtained documents leading to the identification of false entities which received payments that are believed to be fraudulent insurance claims made by Timmons Campbell. Timmons Campbell has admitted to investigators that she falsified documents fabricating cattle losses in order to collect money.

Arson, fraud lead to 20-year sentence for Ark. woman

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman reported that Elesha Martin was convicted on three counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud.

On June 22, 2007, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Marion Humphrey sentenced Martin to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections with seven of those years suspended, provided she makes restitution of $514,928.

According to the insurance department, as part of an elaborate scheme, Martin would take out renters insurance on a house and eventually set fire to the property in order to file a claim with her insurance company.

Defrauded in the scheme were Farmers Insurance, which paid a claim on a house in Maumelle for $130,802, and Encompass Insurance, which paid a claim totaling $219,783 on another Maumelle property.

Also swindled was Nationwide Insurance which paid $164,342 for a property which burned in Cammack Village. The arsons took place in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

One of the key leads in the case was Martin’s listing of a $10,000 wedding dress on the content loss inventory she supplied for one of the houses in Maumelle and also the house in Cammack Village, the department said.

Ark. agent to serve 60 days

Insurance agent Christy Vocque of Saline County, Ark., will serve 60 days in a regional correction facility for committing insurance fraud, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department.

Vocque, the owner of the Vocque Insurance Agency in Bryant, diverted client funds, including premium payments, to her own personal use, the insurance department said.

Vocque entered a voluntary plea of guilty to one count of Theft of Property in excess of $2,500 (a class B Felony), 13 counts of Theft of Property in an amount less than $2,500 but greater than $500 (a class C Felony), and six counts of Theft of Property in an amount less than $500.

In addition to the 60 days sentence, Vocque received 20 years probation on the class B Felony and 10 years probation on each of the class C Felonies, which is to run concurrently with the 20 years probation. The first five years of Vocque’s probation are to be supervised.

A special condition of Vocque’s probation is a prohibition from handling other people’s money or being in charge of other people’s money. This prohibition includes employment situations, as well as charitable and recreational activities, such as church or school functions.

In announcing the conviction, Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benafield Bowman said Vocque has made full restitution to her clients.

In addition to making monetary restitution, Vocque was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay court costs of $150 and DNA fees. The case was prosecuted in the Saline County Circuit Court, Criminal Division.