Buyer Beware: Identifying Health Insurance Fraud

Scam insurance is not new - criminals have been selling fraudulent policies since health insurance came into being. But with today's skyrocketing health care costs, more consumers are seeking affordable access to quality care, which provides scam artists with fertile hunting grounds.

By appealing to consumers' insurance cost concerns, these individuals successfully entice more than 100,000 Americans into purchasing sham health insurance every year.

Consumers should always be on the lookout for common insurance scams.

How Car Insurance Cheats are Driving up Costs

Their license plates say "Pennsylvania" or "North Carolina," but the drivers of many of those cars in New York and its suburbs aren't here to visit Broadway or Jones Beach.

They live here.

They are part of an $80-billion-a-year nationwide insurance fraud problem that investigators say costs honest motorists big bucks. And efforts by states and the industry to curb the practice are increasing.

Indictment Alleges Fraud

A Monmouth County grand jury on Wednesday indicted a former Freehold resident, accusing him of stealing more than $99,000 through disability insurance fraud.

Michael Mason, 51, who now lives in Winchester, Calif., is charged with second-degree theft by deception, third-degree insurance fraud and fourth-degree falsifying records, said New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram in a prepared statement.

Charges Issued for Insurance Fraud

Two Niagara Falls men are facing felony criminal charges after one of them allegedly collected $1,120 fraudulently in no-fault auto insurance lost wage benefits, according to the state Insurance Department.

Jack Easterly, 49, of 194 61st St., and Kenneth Zortman, 48, of 4536 Liberty Drive, were arrested and charged with insurance fraud by Niagara Falls police Nov. 2 following a joint investigation by the department's Frauds Bureau, the Niagara Falls Police Detective Bureau and the Progressive Insurance Co. Easterly is also charged with grand larceny.

Doctors' Offices Try to Ward off Medical Identity Theft

The next time you visit your family doctor, you should be ready to smile and say "cheese."

Some local practices are putting their cameras to work as insurance companies push doctors to find ways to prevent medical identity theft.

About six months ago, Family Medical Associates of Raleigh started taking photos of its patients to add to its permanent electronic file. That way, when someone comes in for an appointment, the administrator can quickly pull up the medical records and confirm that the person seeking treatment is indeed the correct patient, said Janet Spangler, administrator for the practice.

Man Sentenced In Fatal Car Insurance Fraud Case

It was car insurance fraud gone terribly wrong. More than four years later, a man charged in a fatal Lawrence car crash appeared in court.

NewsCenter 5's Lynn Jolicoeur reported that the victim also allegedly acted as an accomplice.

"There was no intent to cause her death. What was intentional was a staged crash," Assistant District Attorney William Melkonian said.

Authorities Launch Anti-Fraud Fire Task Force

How do you keep fire victims from becoming victims, twice?

With that goal in mind, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced Tuesday the creation of the Southern California Insurance Fraud Task Force.

"It's like clockwork," Poizner said.

"These scam artists from all over the state come to these areas where there's been a natural disaster. And we're here to tell you that we're simply not going to put up with it," he said.

Businessmen Indicted for Insurance Fraud are Coaches at Local School

WAVE 3 has uncovered that two Christian Academy of Louisville coaches are facing an insurance fraud indictment. Head football coach Dan English and his brother Thomas English owned two framing companies and were allegedly shuffling employees back and forth between companies when they had to make an insurance claim.

According to the indictment, that way they were able to avoid paying more than $250,000 to the state for insurance.