Iowa Father and Son Sentenced in Grinnell Mutual Insurance Fraud Case

A father and son were sentenced in early February in a case involving insurance fraud perpetrated against Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co., the Iowa Insurance Division reported.

Richard H. Hartman, age 69, of Manchester, Iowa, and Tobin L. Hartman, age 44, of Ryan, Iowa, were sentenced to two years of supervised probation after pleading guilty in Delaware County District Court recently to the charge of Fraudulent Practices in the Third Degree, an Aggravated Misdemeanor.

The Hartmans had been charged in November 2017 with fraud after an insurance fraud investigation was completed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau and the Delaware County Attorney’s Office.

According to the insurance division, the investigation concluded that Richard Hartman filed a fraudulent insurance claim with Grinnell Mutual seeking insurance proceeds to cover damages he falsely reported to have been caused when he struck his son Tobin’s cattle barn with a skid loader, causing the building to collapse.

Tobin Hartman, provided false statements to the insurance company supporting his father’s version of the events.

The estimated cost to replace the damaged building exceeded $240,000, which the Hartman’s were ultimately unsuccessful in obtaining.

Source: Iowa Insurance Division