Five famous insurance fraud cases
From the downright stupid to the incredibly cruel, these cases would be great contenders if insurance fraud had its own version of the Darwin Awards.
While most have never given it serious consideration (we hope), the thought of an insurance payout can seem like a tempting notion to the less educated out there. However, this type of fraud is nearly always caught. Here are five cases that made the headlines…
- The flame thrower
The claim: A Delaware man was allegedly cooking steak on four separate pans when a fire sparked on his stove. Rather than deal to it in the kitchen, he tried to take one flaming pan outside and “mistakenly” threw it on his convertible, which caught flame. A second pan was thrown on his leather couch, causing the house to be engulfed in flames.
The verdict: Much like a cheating partner claiming to have “tripped and fallen” on someone when caught in the act, this one was a little too glib for the courts, who sentenced the man to five years’ probation and ordered him to pay nearly $40,000 in restitution.
- Leaving a trail
The claim: A “dead” Australian millionaire secured a $3.5 million life insurance payout for his wife and child. He then went on to start a new life here in New Zealand, remarrying and taking up hiking. On the trail, he unfortunately bumped into his brother, who must have thought he was seeing a ghost.
The verdict: When the fraud was uncovered, the man was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He even wrote a book about it, entitled ‘How I Faked My Own Death and Did Not Get Away With It’.
- Video nasty
The claim: Two New York jewellery store owners claimed to have been robbed by men dressed in the traditional garb of Hassidic Jews. While they attempted to destroy the footage, the court was able to determine that the two men had actually robbed themselves earlier in the day, then dressed in costume to do it all over again for the cameras.
The verdict: When the salvaged footage came to light, the pair was convicted of insurance fraud in the first degree, as well as attempted grand larceny and falsifying business records.
- Doctoring the records
The claim: A Texan doctor and his accomplices made numerous Medicare claims for a huge number of “sick” patients, for whom he carried out home visits and called for unnecessary treatments over the space of seven years.
The verdict: After a lengthy FBI investigation, the doctor’s stethoscope was well and truly hung up for good, as he was found guilty and sentenced to 35 years and ordered to pay $268 million.
- Poor handling
The claim: A mentally challenged man sought a payout for dismemberment after losing his hand in an apparent accident. However, it was found that the hand was sawn off by his so-called friend, who tried to claim payments from six different policies.
The verdict: The perpetrator was sentenced to five years for the crime. Is it wrong to ask if it was one year for each finger? Jokes aside, hopefully the poor man has found some better friends.
