Arrests for August 2006
These arrests were made possible through the cooperation of the Frauds Bureau, law enforcement, the insurance industry and the public.
To report suspected incidents of insurance fraud, call 1-888-FRAUDNY
CAUGHT!
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- WHAT PARTS?
Arrested on 8/30/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 3rd degree and attempted grand larceny in the 3rd degreeAn upstate laborer reported to the Rochester Police Department and to Allstate Insurance Company that his 2006 Jeep Rubicon had been stolen from a local street while he was away on a fishing trip from 3/31/06 to 4/2/06. He stated that $7,000 in aftermarket parts had been installed in the Jeep and he produced documents as proof of his claim for the parts. However, an investigation conducted by the Frauds Bureau, the State Police Auto Theft Unit and Allstate’s SIU revealed that the documents were fraudulent.
- PRESCRIPTION DRUG FRAUD
Arrested on 8/29/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and criminal impersonation in the 1st degreeOn numerous occasions between November 2002 and July 2004, a Rochester woman, posing as an employee of a physician’s office, called various pharmacies to order prescriptions drugs in her husband’s name. Once the prescriptions were filled and the claims submitted, she picked up the drugs for her personal use. On July 14, 2004, she telephone-ordered a prescription which the pharmacy denied because it was too soon to be refilled. When the pharmacy contacted the physician’s office to verify, they learned that there was no record of the prescription. In addition, the suspect had identified herself to the pharmacy using the name of a former employee of the physician. At an interview conducted on August 26, 2006 by investigators from the Frauds Bureau and the State Police, the suspect signed a sworn confession stating that she had made the telephone calls ordering the prescription drugs for her personal use.
- PRE-EXISTING DAMAGE
Arrested on 8/24/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degree and attempted grand larceny in the 4th degreeAn investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Rochester Police Field Investigative Services and Allstate Insurance Company led to the arrest of the defendant in this case. The defendant was involved in an accident on 11/15/05, causing damage to her 1999 Chevrolet van. She subsequently filed a claim for $2,808 with Allstate for the loss. However, evidence uncovered during the investigation showed that some of the damage she reported to Allstate was the result of a prior accident for which she had previously been reimbursed.
- JUST A LOAN
Arrested on 8/23/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 4th degreeThe suspect in this investigation reported to the Rochester Police Department that his car was stolen in the early afternoon of 6/5/05 from a local street where he had parked it. However, during an interview, the suspect admitted that he had voluntarily loaned the car to someone. That person never returned the car and it was recovered about two weeks later. The suspect filed a claim with Allstate Insurance Company including documents that misrepresented the facts in the case in order to bolster the theft claim. His arrest was the result of an investigation conducted jointly by the Frauds Bureau, the State Police Auto Theft Unit and Allstate’s SIU.
- FRAUDULENT CERTIFICATE
Arrested on 8/22/06
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd degreeAn investigation by the Frauds Bureau and National Grange Mutual Insurance Company resulted in the arrest of a business woman accused of altering a Certificate of Commercial General Liability Insurance from National Grange to indicate that her husband’s business, a cleaning service, was insured with them. Investigators learned that the woman’s own business was insured through National Grange but her husband’s insurer was Midrox Insurance Company. The investigation also uncovered evidence that the husband was trying to obtain a cleaning contract with a company that required specific amounts of coverage and particular language in the Certificate. When National Grange would not comply with the request, the woman allegedly altered the Certificate and the husband then presented it to the company in an effort to gain the contract. When the company called National Grange to verify the coverage, they learned that the Certificate was not legitimate.
- MORE PRE-EXISTING DAMAGE
Arrested on 8/22/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 5th degree and attempted petit larcenyOn 4/3/06, this defendant was involved in an accident, causing damage to his car and he reported to OneBeacon Insurance Company that all the damage that appeared on his car was the result of that accident. However, an investigation by the Frauds Bureau, the Rochester Police Field Investigative Services and OneBeacon’s SIU revealed that the car had been involved in a prior accident. At the time, it was owned by the defendant’s girlfriend who had filed a claim and been reimbursed for the damage but never had the car repaired.
- FIFTEEN-YEAR FRAUD
Arrested on 8/15/06
Charged with insurance fraud in the 2nd degree, grand larceny in the 2nd degree, offering a false instrument for filing in the 1st degree and workers’ compensation fraudAn upstate farm owner was arrested on 2/17/06 on charges that he set a fire that killed 24 cows at the farm, owned jointly with his father. During the investigation of the fire, investigators from the Frauds Bureau and local law enforcement agencies learned that the father had been collecting workers’ compensation benefits following an on-the-job injury he sustained in 1990. On several occasions over the intervening years, he submitted documents to the State Insurance Fund stating that he was not employed. However, further investigation turned up evidence that in November 1991, he returned to work as the farm’s bookkeeper. As a result of the fraud, he collected more than $83,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.
- NO COVERAGE
Arrested on 8/10/06
Charged with forgery, possession of a forged instrument and petit larcenyThis suspect, unlicensed and acting as a broker, sold the complainant in this case a fraudulent auto insurance identification card. The complainant was unaware that the card was fraudulent until she had an accident and was informed by GEICO Insurance Company that she had no insurance coverage. The Frauds Bureau, the NYPD’s Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad and the Staten Island DA’s Office combined efforts in this investigation.
PRIOR SUPPLEMENTS
JULY 2006
- FRAUDULENT ID CARD
Arrested on 7/10/06
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd and 3rd degrees and violation of Section 319.02 of the Vehicle & Traffic LawAn investigation by the Frauds Bureau and the NYPD’s Fraudulent Document Squad led to the arrest of a Brooklyn man who was charged with possession of a counterfeit auto insurance identification card.
- AND AGAIN
Arrested on 7/6/06
Charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the 2nd and 3rd degrees and violation of Section 319.02 of the Vehicle & Traffic LawTwo child care workers, one from the Bronx and the other from Queens, were arrested on charges of possessing counterfeit auto insurance identification cards. The Frauds Bureau and the NYPD’s Fraudulent Document Squad pooled resources in the investigation that led to the arrests.
