Twenty-seven Pennsylvanians were arrested on a variety of insurance fraud-related offenses this week thanks to a crackdown from the state’s Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane instigated the sweep, deploying investigations by law enforcement with specific authority to work on insurance fraud-related crimes. The arrests were announced Sept. 22, covering a gamut of unrelated activities—including some of the industry’s most common.
An Allentown, Penn. man, for example, submitted a false claim to
Progressive Insurance based on an accident that occurred before he purchased his policy. He also tried to claim more than $1,900 in medical expenses for his children. In Coraopolis, Penn., two individuals were convicted of identity theft, forgery and criminal conspiracy by using forged prescriptions to obtain oxycodone pills.
Several other individuals were convicted on offenses related to workers’ comp fraud.
Kane said the sweep was vital to cracking down on expensive, frequent and sometimes severe instances of insurance fraud.
“Insurance fraud is one of the most costly white-collar crimes in America today, with estimated losses in the billions of dollars annually,” she said. “This sweep demonstrates the severe penalties for committing these crimes, which increases costs for everyone, including seniors.”
The Insurance Fraud Section of the attorney general’s office is supported by funds from insurance companies doing business in the state. The system was set up in 1994, when legislation established the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority (IFPA).
