An independent insurance agent and her husband were arrested Wednesday for allegedly running a scam that may have cheated insurers out of more than $100,000.
Georgia insurance agent Amy Livingston and her husband, Matthew – a former insurance agent himself – were arrested for exploitation and fraud. A six-month investigation by the Troup County, Ga., Insurance and Fire Safety Commission’s fraud division allegedly found that the couple was using the identities of Matthew’s former clients to create fake life-insurance applications.
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Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said those phony applications netted the Livingstons more than $11,000 in first-year commission payments from four different insurance companies. But Hudgens told Atlanta’s NBC 11 that he expected that to merely be the tip of the iceberg.
“With additional evidence still coming in, we expect the amount to increase to well over $100,000,” Hudgens said.
The Livingstons are accused of a type of fraud known as “churning” – canceling existing policies, then writing new policies for the same customers in order to get a commission. According to Hudgens, the Livingstons churned the life insurance policies of their elderly clients.
Hudgens told NBC 11 that the Livingstons’ victims may have insurance issues in the future thanks to the couple’s fraud.
“Unfortunately, they are elderly and they’re going to have a hard time getting new policies,” he said. “Maybe their health situation has declined and they are not able to get coverage again.”
If convicted, the Livingstons could each face up to a decade in prison, NBC 11 reported.
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