Navy personnel charged in insurance scam
Five Navy service members have been accused of attempting to scam an insurer for $100,000 apiece
Navy personnel charged in insurance scam
INSURANCE NEWS
By Ryan Smith
04 May 2018

Five Navy service members stationed in San Diego have been indicted for allegedly claiming $100,000 each in insurance payouts for non-existent injuries.

According to an indictment filed in US District Court, the service members – four men and one woman – falsified insurance applications, using forged signatures and altering hospital records belonging to real patients. The service members claimed to have injured themselves in falls – including one from a horse – and motorcycle crashes, according to a report by The San Diego Tribune. Four of them actually received their $100,000 payouts before the government discovered the fraud.

Indicted were Richard Cote, 43; Earnest Thompson, 44; brothers Christopher Toups, 40, and Jason Toups, 35; and Kelene McGrath, Christopher Toups’ 41-year-old ex-wife.

The indictment alleged the defendants filed phony claims through Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, a Defense Department-funded insurance program. The program provides short-term financial aid of up to $100,000 for severely injured service members and veterans, the Tribune reported.

The defendants were charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which each carry a sentence of up to 20 years, and with making a fraudulent claim, which carries a sentence of up to five years, the Tribune reported.

 

 

 

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