Fraud Fighters Get Extra Help

All too often, they have no idea what hit them.

People defrauded of their homes or victimized in other property scams are wracked with despair when they realize they've been conned. Many times, they don't even know how it happened.

"I love to help figure it out," said Glenn Gulley, a real estate fraud investigator with the Stanislaus County district attorney's office. "You get to put all the pieces to a puzzle. There is not a more satisfying job in the world."

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PHONY AAA EMPLOYEES TRY TO DUPE ELDERLY COUPLE IN SANTA CRUZ

Two men posing as AAA employees tried to scam an elderly couple out of almost $4,000 by telling them their car had a wobbly wheel.
Sheriff's Sgt. Fred Plageman said the Thursday afternoon incident was attempted elder abuse and credited a vigilant bank manager for scaring off the would-be thieves.
The couple, from Scotts Valley, had just finished a shopping trip to Costco in Santa Cruz and were driving out of the parking lot around 2 p.m. Thursday when a man flagged them down, according to the Sheriff's Office. He identified himself as a AAA employee, said there were mechanical problems with the couple's 1997 Toyota Camry, then shook the right rear tire and told the couple it wobbled, Plageman said.
The man then told the couple he could fix it for them but that they had to go elsewhere because he couldn't perform car repairs in the Costco parking lot. He said it would cost $3,800 up front and said that the couple could get a rebate later, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The "mechanic" then introduced a second man as his son, who drove the 84-year-old Scotts Valley man to Liberty Bank in Felton while the mechanic stayed behind in the parking lot with the man's wife, the Sheriff's Office reported.
At the bank, the manager got involved when the elderly man tried to make a large withdrawal.
"It looks like the victim and the bank manager came to the conclusion that he was being scammed," Plageman said.
When she walked toward the front of the bank and tried to write down the suspect's license plate number, he sped away so fast he nearly hit another vehicle, Plageman said.
About the same time, the mechanic told the elderly man's wife he wanted to get a drink, walked away and didn't come back. Both the mechanic and his son had been talking on their cell phones since they parted ways in the Costco parking lot, the Sheriff's Office reported.
No theft occurred and an inspection of the couple's car revealed there were no mechanical problems, Plageman said.

800 Suspect Auto Claims in Sacramento County, CA

More drivers on the road during summer months means more car crashes, but not all of them may be for real.

More than 800 insurance claims in Sacramento County in the fiscal year ended June 30 are suspect and may have involved staged collisions, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced Thursday. The 802 suspected fraudulent claims in 2007-08 is down from 856 a year earlier, but up from 788 in 2005-06, the state insurance regulator announced.

This translates to potential losses of $5.6 million in the last fiscal year alone.

Statewide, 14,623 out of 23,734 — 61 percent — of the insurance fraud referrals received by the state agency in the last fiscal year were suspected automobile insurance fraud.

People who create pre-planned accidents are known as “stagers.” They look for high-value targets such as commercial vehicles, expensive luxury cars or vehicles owned by cities or counties. They are considered high value because of the virtual guarantee of insurance coverage.

Plastic Surgeon's Perfect Life Marred

His plastic-surgery training in hand, Lawrence Saks left the Canadian winters he hated in the early 1980s and headed for what may be the world's most welcoming market for such medical specialists: esthetically obsessed southern California.

It was a profitable move. The product of a hardscrabble Quebec City upbringing, Dr. Saks built a fortune in the millions of dollars and forged a reputation as a generous philanthropist.

But that enviable life is suddenly on the brink of collapse. The 56-year-old doctor has been charged with US$4-million in insurance fraud and other crimes, allegedly for claiming handsome disability benefits for himself while continuing to do tummy tucks, facelifts and other surgery. As it turns out, the fraud case is only the latest and most damning in a string of brushes with the law and medical regulators.

California Report Details How to Reduce Fraudulent Insurance Claims

Following a meeting with his Advisory Task Force on Insurance Fraud, Blue Ribbon Review Committee, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that he will implement five actions to help reduce fraudulent claims, including creating a fusion center for insurance fraud investigations so law enforcement can share information more efficiently and quickly to identify emerging trends and crime patterns.

"Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime," said Commissioner Poizner. "The costs are passed onto consumers to the tune of $500 a year for every man, woman and child and that's why I have made fighting insurance fraud one of my highest priorities."