False Identity Leads to Guilty Pleas in Fraud Cases

District Court Judge John S. McGroarty accepted the guilty pleas of Warren Wright, 63, formerly of North Las Vegas, on two felony counts of insurance fraud. Wright agreed to pay $12,763.38 in restitution to the insurance companies he defrauded, reimburse the Insurance Fraud Unit $5,000.00 in investigative fees, and pay $935.28 for the cost of extradition from Texas. Wright will be formally sentenced on April 2, 2003. He faces up to four years in prison and fines of $5,000.00 on each count.

Wright, using the identity “Terell Williams”, complete with social security number and California driver’s license, purchased disability policies from Continental General and Protective Life in May of 1999. A month later, he claimed he had fallen off a ladder, injuring his back. He sought medical treatment and submitted medical evaluation forms that indicated he had no prior injury. The insurance companies paid on the monthly disability policies until a former friend reported Wright’s scam to Continental General. The Insurance Fraud Unit, with the assistance of the Office of the Inspector General and California Department of Insurance, determined that Wright actually had major back surgery in the 1970s, leaving a six-inch scar over his lumbar region. Investigation revealed that Wright has worked under aliases throughout his adult life, all the while receiving federal disability money.