Eight Sentenced in $1.2M Travel Insurance Fraud Scheme

Eight people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a $1.2 million travel insurance fraud kickback scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana announced.

According to court documents, Jennifer Fleener devised a scheme in 2016 to submit and approve fraudulent travel‑insurance claims through her employer, “T.M,” headquartered in Houston. T.M. has a travel division in Indianapolis that sells short‑term travel medical insurance to individuals traveling outside the United States. Jennifer Fleener received money from the fraudulent claims.

Jennifer Fleener worked at T.M. from 2012 to 2021 as a case‑management supervisor and claims handler. In this role, she had detailed knowledge of T.M.’s policy‑issuance and claims‑processing procedures.

Jennifer Fleener’s ex-husband Mike Fleener joined the scheme in 2016, and the two recruited individuals to participate in the fraud. Most of the individuals lived in the Philippines.

Beginning in 2019, Jennifer Fleener expanded the scheme by recruiting T.M. employees, their families, and associates.

Jennifer Fleener instructed each recruit to purchase insurance policies for themselves or others and then submitted falsified claims. As a claims handler, Fleener approved fraudulent submissions without secondary review. T.M. mailed payout checks directly to the claimants, and the proceeds were divided among the co‑conspirators, with Fleener receiving a share.

In total, the conspiracy was responsible for filing 441 fraudulent claims, resulting in $1.2 million to T.M.

The eight defendants each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Jennifer Fleener was sentenced to 57 months in prison, and Mike Fleener was sentenced to 48 months. Another defendant was sentenced to a year, while the five others will serve probation.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana