The Source for Insurance Fraud Professionals
Watch the full video at https://rumble.com/v2nfr4m-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-may-15-2023.html and at https://youtu.be/XZ6CbJzlOng
Issue number 10 of the 27th publication year of Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter is provided in Adobe pdf format including the following articles. You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Millions for Defense: Not a Dime for Tribute
Stage accident eliminates coverage
In a no-fault auto insurance case brought in New York, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, the plaintiff insurer determined prima facie right to summary judgment of:
- file the examination under oath of defendant insured Lesie Merle, in which she testified that she primarily garaged the car involved in the accident in Far Rockaway, New York, rather than in Connecticut;
- an affidavit from its insurer Christina Ardito, establishing that such misrepresentation to the plaintiff as to the car’s location was material.
You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
More problems with McClenny Moseley & Associates
This is ZIFL’s sixth installment in the saga of McClenny, Moseley & Associates and its problems with the federal courts in the state of Louisiana and what appears to be an attempt to profit from what some judges and district judges indicate may be criminal behavior to profit from . insurance claims related to hurricane damage to the public in the state of Louisiana.
You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Imprisonment for 195 years
Trained investigators can testify as experts on fire cause and origin
Following NFPA guidelines establishes expertise The defendant, Todd N. Perkins, appealed twenty-eight felony convictions stemming from a jury verdict that found he intentionally caused a building explosion. He challenged the district court’s denial of a hearing to determine the reliability of the basis for the arson investigators’ opinions. IN The People of the State of Colorado v. Todd N. Perkins, No. 20CA0882, 2023 COA 38, Court of Appeals of Colorado, Division A (May 4, 2023), the appellate court addressed claims by incompetent fire causation experts.
You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Good news from
Dam Ngoc Luong ran her own staffing company and found out that although her workers were temporary, they were not insurance fraud. The Dorchester woman now pleads guilty to a host of fraud charges. Prosecutors claim: From 2015 to 2019, Luong owned and operated Four Seasons Temp, Inc. When Luong collected payments from his business clients at temp agencies, Luong cashed most of the checks instead of depositing the money into his business account.
You can read the full 20-page issue including several reports on insurance fraud convictions at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Serious fraud
Those who try to place fraud in more than one category go from soft fraud to what they call “hard fraud”. Aggravated fraud is considered fraud or attempted fraud that is premeditated and intentionally committed.
It is considered “hard fraud” because the person committing the fraud did it intentionally and the claim was made for the sole purpose of deceiving the insurer rather than a casual fraud. Fraud, of course, is always an intended act or omission to act that injures another. The differentiation exists because some fraudsters are honest people who are tempted to “cheat a little” when a genuine claim arises, while hardened fraudsters intend to commit the crime even before a loss is reported. Both have committed the crime or defrauded an insurer but soft fraudsters are nicer than hard fraudsters.
You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Health insurance fraud convictions
California man convicted of healthcare conspiracy
Steven Donofrio, 49, was convicted by a jury on May 5, 2023, after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III. Donofrio, a Temecula, California man, has been found guilty of federal violations related to a health care system in the Eastern District of Texas.
You can read the full 20-page issue including several reports on insurance fraud convictions at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Other insurance fraud
Conviction of crop insurance fraud
James Garrettage 68, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,045,544 in restitution to the United States. Levi Garrett, age 44, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $279,396 in restitution to the United States. Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, US District Court, has sentenced the two Sully County, South Dakota, men convicted of making false statements in connection with Federal Crop Insurance. The verdict took place on January 30, 2023.
You can read the full 20-page issue including several reports on insurance fraud convictions at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Arson for profit
Arson is probably the dumbest form of insurance fraud. With modern municipal fire departments, arson fires rarely completely destroy the premises, evidence is always left behind for arson investigators to review, and firefighters and the public are put at risk of injury and death, and as a result, judges have little mercy for an arsonist. Arsonists hoping to make money from a fire rarely sit back and accept their punishment when convicted.
You can read the full 20-page issue including several reports on insurance fraud convictions at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
Barry Zalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to serving as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims management, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He also serves as an arbitrator or mediator for insurance-related disputes. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims attorney and more than 54 years in the insurance industry. He can be reached at http://www.zalma.com and zalma@zalma.com
For the past 55 years, Barry Zalma has dedicated his life to insurance, insurance claims and the need to defeat insurance fraud. He has created the following library of books and other materials to enable insurers and their claims professionals to become professionals in insurance claims.
Barry Zalma, Inc., 4441 Sepulveda Boulevard, CULVER CITY CA 90230-4847, 310-390-4455; Subscribe to Zalma on Insurance at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.local.com/subscribe. Subscribe to Excellence in Claims Handling at https://barryzalma.substack.com/welcome. Go to the Zalma On Insurance podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/barry-zalma/support Write to Mr Zalma at zalma@zalma.com; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; I publish daily articles at https://zalma.substack.com, Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos on Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library/ to consider more than 50 volumes written by Barry Zalma on insurance and insurance claims management.
You can read the entire 20-page issue at http://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ZIFL-05-15-2023.pdf
