On July 23, 2021, Eli Rusczyk was arrested in Lycoming County.  According to the criminal complaint, on August 25, 2020, at 1:19 PM, Rusczyk purchased an automobile policy from the Progressive Insurance Company.  On August 27, Rusczyk contacted Progressive and allegedly claimed that his vehicle struck the side of a building as he was backing into a parking space on August 25. The complaint stated that Rusczyk told the insurer that the accident had occurred between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM.  During a recorded phone interview, Rusczyk allegedly told a Progressive representative that the loss “probably” occurred after his policy’s inception. According to the complaint, Rusczyk provided the insurer with photographs of the loss. One of the photos allegedly appeared to have been taken at 12:04 PM on August 25, which was shortly before Rusczyk purchased his policy. According to the complaint, Erie determined that the accident occurred prior to the inception of Rusczyk’s coverage. The claim was denied. Rusczyk was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3), and one count of Insurance Fraud (M1).

On July 21, 2021, Jeremiah Layden was arrested in Cambria County.  According to the criminal complaint, on March 19, 2021, at 1:30 PM, Layden purchased a new liability vehicle policy from Progressive Insurance.  The complaint stated that on March 23, a claimant contacted Progressive and reported that at approximately 12:30 PM on March 19, a car driven by the claimant’s wife was rear-ended by a Ford F150 driven by Layden.  The caller advised Progressive that he had been riding with his wife when the accident occurred. According to the complaint, Layden provided his license information to the other driver at the accident scene, but did not have his insurance information at that time. The complaint stated that Layden later texted his insurance information to the other driver. During a recorded interview conducted by Progressive, Layden allegedly stated that he purchased his new policy hours before the loss occurred. According to the complaint, on April 5, 2021, the driver of the other involved vehicle sent Progressive screenshots of photographs taken after the accident occurred. The photos allegedly were time-stamped 12:54 PM and 12:58 PM and bore the date of March 19, 2021. Progressive determined that the loss occurred prior to the inception of Layden’s coverage and denied payment for the loss. Layden is charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3) and one count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3).

On July 27, 2021, James Moyer was arrested in Blair County.  According to the criminal complaint, Moyer’s Erie Insurance automobile policy was cancelled for non-payment of premium on November 23, 2020. At 9:50 AM on January 18, 2021, Moyer obtained a new Erie policy which included comprehensive and collision coverage. During the application process, Moyer allegedly denied that any losses had occurred while his vehicle was uninsured. The complaint stated that Moyer contacted Erie later that day and reported that his vehicle was involved in an accident which happened between noon and 12:20 PM. Moyer allegedly claimed that his vehicle slid off a ramp and struck a guardrail, damaging the vehicle’s front end. However, the complaint further stated that the driver of another vehicle damaged in the crash reported the incident to police on January 16, 2021. The other driver allegedly provided Erie with photographs of his vehicle damage, along with Moyer’s insurance and driver’s license information. According to the complaint, the metadata from the photos enabled Erie to confirm that Moyer’s vehicle policy was not in effect at the time of the loss. Erie denied the claim.  The complaint further stated that on February 6, 2021, State Police cited Moyer for driving without insurance.  Moyer was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), one count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3), and one count of Insurance Fraud (M1).

On July, 21, 2021, George Paleologos was arrested in Berks County.  According to the criminal complaint, on March 8, 2021, at 8:29 PM, George Paleologos purchased a Progressive Insurance Company policy to cover a 2018 Toyota Yaris. In a recorded statement taken by Progressive on March 18, 2021, Paleologos allegedly reported that the insured vehicle had been involved in a two-vehicle accident which occurred at approximately 8:30 or 8:40 PM on March 8. However, according to the complaint, the driver of the other involved vehicle claimed that the accident occurred at approximately 8:20 PM and provided the insurer with accident photos which were timestamped “Monday, 8:16 PM” and “Monday, 8:17 PM.” Progressive allegedly determined that the accident occurred prior to the inception of Paleologos’ coverage and denied the claim. Paleologos was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3) and one count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3).

On July 20, 2021, Lewis Brown was arrested in Delaware County.  According to the criminal complaint, on March 8, 2021, Brown called in a claim to his insurer, New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance (NJM), and reported that he had been driving his 2016 Jeep Cherokee at approximately 5:00 PM on February 9, 2021, when it was involved in an accident. On March 10, 2021, Brown again allegedly stated to the insurer that he was the driver at the time of the crash. However, according to the complaint, the driver of another involved vehicle reported that the Cherokee was being operated by a black female when the crash occurred. The complaint further stated that the police accident report indicated that the female driver of Brown’s Jeep Cherokee fled the scene. Further investigation allegedly revealed that Brown had been incarcerated and could not have been driving the Jeep when the crash occurred. Brown was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), one count of Theft by Deception (F3), one count of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility (F3), and one count of Solicitation/Conspiracy to commit Insurance Fraud (F3).

On July 15, 2021, Samuel Essuman was arrested in Cumberland County.  According to the criminal complaint, on August 31, 2020, Essuman submitted an online application to Mid-Century Insurance to cover a 2012 Toyota Corolla. The insurer denied the application when it allegedly determined that Essuman had a New York driver’s license. The complaint further stated that on the following day, Essuman applied online for vehicle coverage from Bristol West Insurance. The insurer denied the application after allegedly discovering that Essuman had a New York address. According to the complaint, Essuman indicated on both applications that he lived in Pennsylvania. An investigation allegedly revealed that Essuman never lived at the purported Pennsylvania address, never possessed a Pennsylvania driver’s license and never registered a vehicle in the Commonwealth. The complaint further stated that investigators determined that Essuman had a New York driver’s license since 2017 and was a licensed driver in New Jersey. According to the U.S. Post Office, Essuman allegedly lived in Brooklyn, NY, until at least August 5, 2020, after which his mailing address was changed to Bayonne, NJ. According to the complaint, further investigation revealed that on January 9, 2020, Essuman applied to insure the same 2012 Toyota with GEICO. On that application, Essuman allegedly indicated that he had registered the Toyota in Pennsylvania and that he lived at 18 South Market Street, Mechanicsburg, PA. The GEICO policy became effective on January 15, 2020, but was cancelled on April 20, 2020. According to the complaint, Essuman unlawfully avoided paying approximately $643.38 in premiums to GEICO by insuring the car in Pennsylvania, rather than in New York. Essuman was charged with three counts of Insurance Fraud (M1), two counts of Identity Theft (M1), and one count of Theft by Deception (M1).

On July 14, 2021, Megan and Kaylyn Porter were arrested in Montgomery County.  According to the criminal complaint, Megan Porter had an automobile policy with Progressive Advanced Insurance Company. On November 23, 2020, Megan allegedly removed a 2019 Mitsubishi from the policy. According to the complaint, she called the insurer on December 18, 2020, and added the Mitsubishi to her policy at 3:27 PM. During the call, Megan allegedly denied that the vehicle had been involved in a loss. On December 19, 2020, Megan’s daughter Kaylyn Porter allegedly contacted Progressive and filed a claim for an accident involving the 2019 Mitsubishi. According to the complaint, Kaylyn stated that the loss occurred at approximately 4:00 PM or 5:00 PM on December 18, 2020. However, when a Progressive representative interviewed Kaylyn again, she allegedly stated that the loss occurred "between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM." On December 19, 2020, a recorded interview was conducted with Megan Porter, who allegedly stated that the vehicle was added to the policy before the accident occurred. However, according to the complaint, the driver of another involved vehicle provided the insurer with photographs taken at the scene of the loss. The photos allegedly were stamped with the time of 3:14 PM, which was prior to when Megan Porter added the Mitsubishi to her policy. Progressive denied the claim. According to the complaint, Megan Porter later admitted to investigators that she knew that her daughter’s Mitsubishi was involved in the accident before she added the car to her Progressive policy. Megan and Kaylan Porter were each charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), one count of Attempted/Theft by Deception (F3), one count of Conspiracy (F3), one count of Criminal Use of Communication Facility (F3), and one count of Insurance Fraud (M1).

On July, 9, 2021, Nlumbidzi Dube was arrested in Montgomery County.  According to the criminal complaint, on September 5, 2019, Dube purchased a liability-only Progressive Insurance policy for his Nissan Sentra.  At 10:47 AM on December 4, 2019, Dube allegedly reported to Progressive that his Sentra incurred significant front-end damage that morning when it rear-ended another car. According to the complaint, Progressive advised Dube that his policy did not include collision insurance and therefore the damage to his Sentra would not be covered. The complaint further stated that approximately three hours after the accident occurred, Dube added collision coverage to the policy; the coverage was scheduled to take effect on December 9, 2019. According to the complaint, Dube called Progressive on January 10, 2020, and reported that the Sentra’s front-end was damaged when the car struck a wall on January 7. However, investigators allegedly found that following the December 4, 2019 accident, the Sentra was taken to a repair shop and remained there until the car was sold as salvage on April 8, 2020. The insurer denied Dube’s claims. Dube was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), one count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3), and one count of Criminal Use of Communication Facility (F3).

On July 9, 2021, Phillip Lee Snell was arrested in Lancaster County.  According to the criminal complaint, on June 30, 2020, Snell contacted USAA insurance and reported that someone had stolen his 2003 Audi from the driveway of his home in Columbia, Lancaster County. Snell allegedly stated that the theft occurred sometime between December 2019, and March 6, 2020, when Snell was living in California. The complaint stated that Snell’s prior USAA coverage on the vehicle was cancelled for non-payment on March 6, 2020, and that he obtained a new policy on June 12. Snell allegedly told the insurer that he did not know that the Audi had been stolen until a tow company contacted him and advised that the car was impounded on March 11, 2020. According to the complaint, the tow company reported that the vehicle remained in the tow yard and accrued more than $4,700 in tow and storage fees. An investigation allegedly revealed that the vehicle was impounded by police after they determined that the Audi was operating with a stolen registration. The complaint further stated that when the car was impounded, its driver told police that Snell had permitted her to use the car. Snell allegedly informed USAA that this was not true and that he barely knew the driver. However, an investigation allegedly revealed that Snell previously allowed the same driver to use his vehicle and had referred to her as his “friend” in a prior claim. According to the complaint, USAA determined that Snell’s theft claim was fraudulent and denied payment. Snell is charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3), and one count of Theft by Deception (F3).

On July 8, 2021, Elizabeth Halinka was arrested in Westmoreland County.  According to the criminal complaint, on November 2, 2020, Halinka’s General Insurance automobile policy on her Dodge Caliber was cancelled for nonpayment.  Halinka allegedly reinstated the policy via a mobile app on November 29, 2020, at 2:56 AM.  According to the complaint, Halinka filed a claim on December 2, 2020, in which she reported that the Caliber was involved in an accident at 3:00 AM on November 29, 2020. Halinka also allegedly claimed that she paid to reinstate her vehicle policy before the accident occurred. However, according to the complaint, at approximately 2:50 AM on November 29, police and fire departments were dispatched to the scene of an automobile accident involving the Dodge Caliber.  Halinka allegedly admitted to investigators that she had obtained the insurance policy after the accident and subsequently misrepresented the time of the loss to the General in hopes of getting coverage for the damage. The claim was denied. Halinka was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud (F3) and one count of Criminal Attempt/Theft by Deception (F3).

On July 7, 2021, Joshua Herald was arrested in Allegheny County on a previously-issued warrant. According to the criminal complaint, on September 29, 2020, Herald reported to Capitol Insurance Company that he was operating his Cadillac Deville when it was struck by another vehicle. An investigation allegedly revealed that Herald was not present in the vehicle when the loss occurred. Further, the complaint stated that investigators determined that Capitol was unaware that Herald’s partner was a member of the insured’s household and had a suspended driver’s license at the time of the loss. Accordingly, Capitol denied the claim. Herald was charged with one count of Theft by Deception (F3) and one count of Insurance Fraud (F3).

On July 27, 2021, Heather Jacobs was sentenced in Philadelphia County after entering into a negotiated plea to one count of Insurance Fraud (F3).  On November 16, 2017, Jacobs was driving a rented U-Haul van insured by Repwest Insurance, when the van was involved in a two-vehicle accident.  The other involved vehicle was insured by a Safe Auto policy which included coverage for personal injury and property damage. On November 17, 2017, the driver of the other vehicle filed property damage and personal injury claims with both Safe Auto and Repwest Insurance. The driver told both insurers that on November 16, his vehicle was rear-ended by Jacobs’ U-Haul van between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM. The driver also claimed that he did not know the operator of the U-Haul prior to the accident. When Repwest contacted Jacobs about the accident, she reported that the crash occurred at 5:30 PM and maintained that she did not know the other driver. A subsequent investigation revealed that both drivers knew each other and had agreed to stage the accident in order to make the insurance claims. Jacobs was sentenced to perform 20 hours of community service and to serve two years of drug probation.

On July 1, 2021, Christina Schafte was sentenced in Montgomery County after entering a negotiated plea to one count of Insurance Fraud (F3). Christina and her husband Matthew Schafte obtained a State Farm automobile policy for their Hyundai on December 24, 2018. Matthew contacted the insurer later that day and claimed that he had been driving and that Christina was a passenger in the Hyundai when the car struck a deer. However, during a telephone call with State Farm on December 25, Christina claimed that Matthew had been driving the insured vehicle when it stopped working and had to be towed. Then on January 18, 2019, Christina provided a recorded statement to the insurer in which she claimed that she was driving the Hyundai when it was involved in a deer strike. State Farm ultimately determined that the Hyundai was involved in a two-vehicle accident which occurred several days before the couple obtained the vehicle policy. The insurer confirmed that State Police impounded the Hyundai following the crash and that it was at an impound lot on December 24, the date of Matthew Schafte’s purported deer strike accident. Although the claim was denied, State Farm did pay for a rental car before realizing the fraud. Christina Schafte was sentenced to serve 36 months of probation, pay restitution in the amount of $436.15, and ordered to pay court costs.

Pennsylvania Bulletin Notice 2016-04 (issued April 30, 2016) reminded insurers of their obligations to report suspected arson or insurance fraud to law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth.  The bulletin also announced a decision by the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance to allow licensees to satisfy their reporting obligation when they electronically submit reports of suspected fraud to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

 

On July 6, 2017, Pennsylvania began participating in this online service which enables member companies to electronically forward reports of suspected fraud to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Insurance Fraud Section or other appropriate law enforcement agencies at the same time the companies report suspicious claims to the NICB. NOTE: The NICB is not a law enforcement agency. Therefore, a licensee cannot satisfy the fraud reporting requirement by submitting a non-electronic (paper) referral only to the NICB.

 

Important: When utilizing electronic filing through NICB, users should take careful note of the provided instructions regarding the “Party” to a claim.  Information entered about a Party will only be transmitted to law enforcement if users select one of two options: “This Party was subject to an SIU investigation” or “This Party was subject to an enforcement action.”  Some users have missed this notation about individual Party data and consequently have submitted incomplete information to law enforcement.