Sob Story Woman Accused of Fraud

First, she said she was a wounded Iraq War veteran, and showed a scar on her stomach to prove it.

Then, the Georgia woman said her mother had been killed in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. And finally, she explained her lack of money, clothes or a home on the fact other close family members had been killed in Hurricane Katrina.

The story was so sad and heartrending that Manatee County resident Trudy Johnson, who met the woman outside a Georgia hotel in June, asked her to come to Bradenton to live with her and her husband until she got her life turned around.

In the end, though, April Arrington Edwards' stories were shown to be mostly, or perhaps completely, fabricated.

Read more here.

Madoff Pleads Guilty to Ponzi Fraud

Saying he was "deeply sorry and ashamed," Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty Thursday to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history and was immediately led off to jail in handcuffs to the delight of his seething victims. Madoff, 70, could get up to 150 years in prison when he is sentenced in June.

In refusing to let the disgraced financier remain free on bail until then, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin noted that Madoff had the means to flee and an incentive to do so.

The plea did not satisfy many investors who had hoped Madoff would be forced to name any family members or others who helped him swindle them out of billions of dollars. He pleaded guilty to all 11 charges against him — with no deal with prosecutors — meaning he is under no obligation to disclose names and tell authorities where the money went. He is not believed to be cooperating with prosecutors.

Read more here.

Spam Leads $4900 Fraud

A local resident reported that she had been conned out of $4900. On November 15th, the resident made the report to Sheriff's Sgt Jason Williams.

The 47 year old female reported that she answered an e-mail about becoming a mystery shopper. She then received a package via fed-ex containing two checks, each for $2450. She was told to use $100 to shop at Wal-Mart, use $50 for gas, and keep $200 for her pay.

University of BC Sues Former Employee for Fraud

The University of B.C. is suing a former employee, alleging he stole more than $34,000 worth of materials for his own use over a six-year period.

Jan Patocka was terminated May 21 after UBC hired a private investigator and conducted an audit of purchase orders, UBC said in a statement of claim filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court.

The university alleges that Patocka had worked at the university since 1997 and held the position of minor works site supervisor from 2000 until his firing.

Beware of Voter Registration Fraud

With a record number of people expected to go to the polls this November, the Better Business Bureau is warning about voter registration fraud. Identity thieves are using the election to try to get your personal information.

The deadline to register is October 10 and the identity thieves know that many people are unfamiliar with the process and may be voting for the first time.

Record numbers of people are expected to go to the polls this Election Day and scammers are aware of the voter registration drives that are out there. So they're using it as an opportunity to try to steal your personal information.

The scams can come from phone calls or official-looking sign-up booths but primarily, the thieves have just put a different spin on the tried-and-true phishing scams.

You get an e-mail which appears to be from some government agency saying you need to click on a link to register to vote or resolve some registration issue. You're actually being linked to a bogus site where you are asked for sensitive information

INSURERS KEEP WATCH FOR FRAUD IN HOME REPAIRS

A violent, destructive storm such as the one that hit Ohio on Sunday can bring out the best in people: neighbors - even strangers - chipping in to help one another through tough times.
It also can bring out the worst: storm-chasing contractors who descend on hard-hit areas to scam homeowners and insurance companies; normally honest people tempted to wheedle a little more than they know they deserve from insurance companies.
"We have found cases of some (contractors) causing additional damage in order to write up bigger estimates," said Mary Jo Hudson, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance.
Insurance fraud from property and casualty claims runs about $30 billion a year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. This adds an equivalent amount to the premiums paid by policyholders.
There are many different types. Home or business owners who knowingly work with a contractor to artificially inflate an estimate are committing insurance fraud.
"Our claims adjusters are trained to inspect damage and know the difference between damage from hail and wind versus damage mechanically done," said Jeff Henderson, assistant vice president of claims operations for Motorists Mutual Insurance.
Such fraud, he said, could lead to a policy being voided.
Also engaging in insurance fraud are contractors who charge a fee to represent a homeowner in discussions with their insurance company or persuade them to grant them power of attorney.
"These are criminal offenses," Hudson said. "We are a law-enforcement agency and work with local prosecutors to prosecute fraud cases."

MAN WHO FAKED DEATH GETS 2 YEARS FOR FRAUD

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- A New Zealand man who faked his death in 2002 and used a name taken from a gravestone to build a new life was sentenced Friday to more than two years.
Bruce James Dale, 43 was convicted of insurance fraud, the New Zealand Herald reported. His estranged wife and their sons received a large life insurance payment after he was declared dead in 2004.
After leaving his car in a coastal area near Auckland, Dale adopted the name Michael Francis Peach, which belonged to a baby who had died years before 10 days after birth. He moved to Christchurch on the South Island and built up a business.
Dale was arrested this year after he applied for a passport using his real name.
In an interview, Dale said that police would have found him if anyone had made a serious effort.
"You could do what I did in a week. The police stated that I went to extreme lengths. Well, they are going to think that because they want to make it sound as if they did their job properly," he told the Herald.
At the time of his disappearance, he said, he was dealing with financial problems as well as the breakdown of his marriage. He said that he also did not get on well with most of his family, although he missed his children.

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.

DID ANNE HATHAWAY SQUEAL ON RAFFAELLO FOLLIERI?

Anne Hathaway’s former boyfriend, Italian entrepreneur Raffaello Follieri has pleaded guilty to all 14 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in a real estate investment venture this morning, saying, "I knew what I was doing was wrong," according to Access Hollywood. And Anne Hathaway is finally talking about the breakup in the October issue of W magazine.In the W interview, conducted just three weeks after Follieri's arrest, she talks about Follieri's troubles, saying, “It’s a situation where the rug was pulled out from under me all of a sudden."
But according to a story in the new issue of Vanity Fair, Anne Hathaway was still talking to Follieri just six hours before he was arrested.
She reportedly called him on his cellphone at midnight. He put her on speaker phone. When he asked her to come to his 30th birthday party on Capri, she fell silent, finally saying, “You were the love of my life. I’ll always love you. You know that, baby.”
The article poses the question: Did Hathaway -– or her advisors and/or family -– help the FBI in their investigation of Follieri? It's something Follieri is also wondering.
Vanity Fair writes that after his arrest in April, the Italian businessman believed that Hathaway’s camp was planting negative stories in the press. And Hathaway even told Follieri that her father had hired a private investigator.
Her dad, Jerry Hathaway, admitted to having a PI check him out and e-mailed Vanity Fair: “I regard my involvement in this situation, regardless of its dimensions and level of interest, as fundamentally a private matter between a daughter and her father.”
One source tells Vanity Fair that Follieri’s arrest would not have happened without the promise of a publicity prize due to his famous actress girlfriend. But who cooperated with the FBI?

FEDS INDICT 10 IN ALLEGED INSURANCE-FRAUD SCHEME

The owner of a Denver company and nine of his employees plotted in weekly meetings to rip off insurance companies by getting subcontractors to turn in fake, inflated bids, according to a 60-count federal indictment announced Tuesday.
Disaster Restoration Inc. routinely submitted bills to insurers that were 20 to 30 percent higher than what the company paid subcontractors, the indictment says.
It also claims that the chief operating officer, Charles "Chip" Homer Sharp, of Broomfield, threatened at least two subcontractors with violence or economic harm if they didn't go along with the scam.
DRI owner Michael Griggs said the company will defend itself against the allegations, then referred questions to his attorney, Michael Axt.

POLICE WARN OF NEW SCAM

The old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” holds as true today as it ever has, probably more so.

For that reason, the Chickasha Police Department wants to warn citizens to be aware of a new type of scam being perpetrated on unsuspecting victims by unscrupulous individuals.

According to Chickasha Police Chief Lynn Williams, individuals using the name of legitimate companies such as Consumer Impressions, Inc., a mystery shopper company, have cheated, or have attempted to cheat, unwary consumers out of thousands of dollars across the U. S.

“They’re ripping off people all over the country through e-mail, phone calls and the U.S. Mail,” said Williams.

The ruse is to send people a letter and a cashiers check for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $4,500 and then instructing them to cash the check and transfer all but about $300 of the money from a wire transfer facility, typically a Wal-Mart store, to an international address, often in Canada. The $300 the victim is allowed to “keep” is said to be payment for completing an assignment and/or training, according to the National Association of Mystery Shoppers.

However, within a few days, victims are notified that the check has bounced. Unfortunately, because both the check and the company that issued it are bogus, victims have no recourse and are unable to recover any of their money, leaving them liable for the entire amount, including bank fees.

Other similar scams involve mailing victims unsolicited letters and cashiers checks issued in their name for around $5,000, with instructions to call the company’s office upon receipt of the letter for further instructions. Victims are told to deposit the check into their bank account.

The company then requests that the victim wire most of the money back to them via Western Union or Money Gram, usually several thousand dollars to cover “administrative taxes,” “government taxes,” or “certificates of clearance and insurance.”

Some letters claim to be from “mystery shopper” companies, while others claim the victim has been “randomly selected by computer” and that they have won tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the “2008 Power Pay Stake,” the “North American Lottery Game,” or other bogus sweepstakes. Some even make references to legitimate sweepstakes like the Publisher’s Clearing House or Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes, but are not affiliated with either organization.

One letter, for example, which included a check for $4,900 made out in the victim’s name, asked her to deposit the entire amount into her bank account and then wire $3,950 back to the company “to facilitate the delivery of (her) won large lump sum.”

According to the letter, once the “tax payment” was “processed,” a final check lump-sum payment would be delivered to her by UPS or FedEx.

However, these checks are fraudulent, leaving the victims poorer but, hopefully, wiser, after being cheated out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, often on top of large bank fees.

In addition, these bogus companies sometimes attempt to reassure their victims about their legitimacy by advising them about their “security protocol” which will “avoid any fraudulent activity that might hinder or delay the processing and remittance “ of their prizes.

POLICE WATCHDOG UNDER FIRE OVER MISCONDUCT CASES

The Victorian watchdog charged with investigating crooked police has come under fire over its handling of misconduct within its own ranks.

The Office of Police Integrity (OPI) has been rocked by allegations a sacked investigator was forced to sign statutory declarations to cover up thousands of dollars worth of dubious expense claims.

The former OPI employee alleges his boss forced him to sign the claims to account for OPI expenses spent on meals and entertainment.

He also declared hundreds of dollars allegedly lost by his boss on poker machines as expenses for an OPI operation, code-named Uranium.

The boss at the centre of the allegations has been suspended on full pay.

The OPI has employed a private investigator to probe the claims, which will be reviewed by Victorian ombudsman George Brouwer.

Shopping offer likely a scam

Dear Troubleshooter: Thought this might be of interest to readers. Of course, I did not initiate this offer. It just appeared in my junk mail! - J. H.
For the benefit of my readers, let's explain this mailing. It is an offer to become a mystery shopper. As indicated, the letter arrived unsolicited and stated the recipient was selected to be a mystery shopper .
In addition to the letter, the mailing includes a cashier's check in the amount of $4,998 "to assist you with your assignment." The letter provides instructions for the recipient to follow with regard to their "probational training." It further says they absolutely must contact the company office immediately upon receipt.
Among the tasks the recipient is required to perform include making small purchases at two well-known retailers. However, the crux of the transaction instructs the addressee to arrange money transfers at two different financial wire services.
There's only one way to accomplish this...the recipient will have to deposit the $4998 check. Though the letter doesn't state this, there's a likelihood he'll be told to do so when he makes that required call to the company office.
There is little doubt in my mind the check is fraudulent. This opinion is re-enforced by several postings on various rip-off Web sites. Unfortunately, once the check is deposited and the "employee" carries out his mission, the money will almost surely be gone...never to be seen again. In a week or two, the bank will notify the recipient that the check was fake.
Here are some tell-tale red flags to support my opinion. The envelope contains a Canadian postmark. The company address is in South Dakota but the telephone and fax numbers contain the area code for Ontario, Canada. And finally, the check is drawn on a bank in Wyoming.
Cross-border fraud is an ever-growing problem. Unfortunately, criminals working out of Canada have often been the source for various scams. There are several cooperating government agencies on both sides of the border who work side-by-side in an effort to track down these con artists and bring them to justice.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, many mystery shopping ads promise so-called lucrative jobs but don not deliver real opportunities.
While legitimate companies do in fact hire individuals to evaluate quality of service at particular businesses, the FTC indicates it is unnecessary to pay money to someone to get into the mystery shopping business.

Man charged with insurance fraud

A Rochester man was arrested Monday for allegedly defrauding a local insurance company after claiming new damage to his vehicle that proved to be old, say police.As a result, Brian Vespa, 39, of Western Avenue has been charged with a Class A misdemeanor for insurance fraud, alleging that he defrauded his insurance agency out of $345.79.
Following his arrest, Vespa was released on $1,000 personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on Sept. 29.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Two Buellton residents are charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, among other things, after a sheriff’s department investigation. Karen Peterson, 47, and Debra Mangino, 49 were arrested August 6.

Deputies began the investigation in early July when a Buellton resident reported that someone had used a credit card that belonged to him. Deputies learned that the person who opened accounts in Buellton and Lompoc had the victim’s social security number for verification, the sheriff’s department said in a press release.

Use of the credit card led deputies to view surveillance video of a Buellton gas station which showed the suspects using the fraudulently obtained credit card, officials said. At some point the women were neighbors of the victim, stealing his mail to get the personal information that was used in the fraud, according to deputies.

Mangino was released on a $20,000 bond after her arrest; however Peterson was unable to post her bail and remained in custody. The two appeared before Judge James Rigali in Santa Maria on Aug. 8. At that time the judge said he intended to raise the bail amount for Mangino because she had pending charges from an arrest in May for forgery and grand theft.

Mangino asked Judge Rigali for permission to make a call to a bondsman after she heard that her bail was to be raised. Rigali said she could leave the courtroom but had to stay on the courthouse grounds for her phone call. Five minutes later, when her public defender went outside to find Mangino, she had fled.

Detective Chris Dallenbach of the Solvang sheriff’s substation said that deputies had Mangino’s house under surveillance and when she showed up midday Sunday, Aug. 10, she was spotted by deputies, pursued through backyards in the west Buellton neighborhood, and caught one block from her house.

Counterfeit Scam Leaves Erwin Couple $10,000 Poorer

The Dunn Police Department is investigating two cases of counterfeit check scams, one of which has left an Erwin couple more than $10,000 in the hole.

When Kimberly Spell saw a classified ad in The Daily Record for a clerical job, she thought it was right up her alley, so she called.

The voice at the other end of the line told Mrs. Spell she had the opportunity to participate in a mystery shopper program, evaluating the customer service and efficiency of Wal-Mart's wire transfer service.

Mrs. Spell was sent a money order for $2,775, along with a checklist of criteria on which to evaluate the Wal-Mart employee. She was told to cash the money order at her own bank, keep $300 for payment and use the rest to evaluate the wire transfer service, sending it back to a fictitious relative named Tracy Spell.

When Mrs. Spell went to her bank, State Employees Credit Union in Dunn, the money order raised eyebrows only because of the unusually high amount. The branch manager was called over to inspect the check. He verified it as authentic and Mrs. Spell was given the cash.

She successfully sent the $2,475 to Laura Spell in Ontario, Canada, all the while paying careful attention to her checklist criteria and the attitude of the Wal-Mart employees.

Following the transaction, Mrs. Spell called the mystery shopper company to confirm the job was complete.

The next day, promptly at 10 a.m., a second package arrived via overnight delivery and the same routine took place again. On the third day, two checks were enclosed in the overnight envelope. On the fourth day, the company in Canada sent Mrs. Spell four checks, bringing the grand total to $23,055.

When Mrs. Spell went to her bank to start the day's work with these four checks, she was told they, along with the first four she had cashed, were all fakes. All of the checks bounced, and Mrs. Spell and her husband, Howard Spell, will be held responsible for the more than $10,000 they wired away to an unknown person in Canada.

The advertisement is no longer running in The Daily Record.

New Consortium Plans Strategies to Combat Medical Fraud

The newly formed Consortium to Combat Medical Fraud, a joint project of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, along with participation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice, announced on June 24 its national agenda to pursue the perpetrators of medical fraud.

The Consortium is designed to create a more open and collaborative environment between different segments of the insurance industry to heighten the detection and prevention of health care fraud.

Jury To Continue Deliberating In Wilcox Case

Jury deliberations will continue Wednesday for the man accused in the fiery crash on Avon Mountain three years ago that killed four people.

The jury has been deliberating since Friday and has not reached a verdict in the case of David Wilcox, who is the owner of the truck that barreled down Avon Mountain 2005.

The issue in the trial is if Wilcox, 72, did know that the liability insurance on his truck was suspended or if he tried to reinstate it right after the crash.

New Bureau Ready to Tackle Insurance Crime

With insurance crime costing short-term insurance companies more than R2 billion a year and increasing, the industry was launching an Insurance Crime Bureau (ICB) to tackle fraud, Viviene Pearson, the stakeholder relations manager at the SA Insurance Association, said yesterday.

Pearson said that the bureau would curb escalating insurance fraud. "Among other things, we have noticed that when interest rates spike, insurance fraud also increases.

Local Doctor Accused Of Insurance Fraud

Prosecutors said a doctor used vaccines intended for the needy, then billed insurance companies.

Tuesday a Saginaw County judge will hear the evidence against Dr. Yuh-Lin Hung in the insurance fraud case.

The prosecution said Hung used vaccines meant for the underinsured through a federally funded program in his private practice – then allegedly billed insurance companies for the service.