A total of 24 individuals have been reported to be charged with interstate auto insurance fraud. According to reports, 17 of them are New York citizens, 6 are from New Jersey, and 1 is a driver from Pennsylvania. Charges have been filed against the unnamed individuals for committing car insurance fraud and other charges of insurance felony for falsely identifying themselves as Pennsylvania drivers in an attempt to receive lower premium rates on auto policies.
Each of the 24 defendants are facing charges including one count of auto insurance fraud and one count of false application for registration or certificate of title. Both offenses are punishable by both years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. Reports say that the defendants may be facing more charges that are yet to be finalized. Preliminary hearings for the defendants are set anytime from January to February next year. Members of the prosecution team for the scheduled hearings include Attorney General Insurance Fraud Section Deputy Attorney General Jennifer B. Peterson and Senior Deputy Attorney General Mark A. Bellavia.
Insurance expert and Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the fraud committed as a form of rate evasion. Corbett described the practice as a scheme of out-of-state car owners who provide fraudulent documents to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in order to get information regarding PA vehicle registration records or drivers’ licenses. After getting what they want, out-of-state fraudsters will then use the information to get cheap rates for Pennsylvania car insurance policies to be used for their automobiles. When asked regarding the damages done by scams like this to Pennsylvania’s insurance industry, Corbett said that the genuine residents pay an additional amount, estimated to be ranging from $12 to $15 million each year due to premium rate hikes.
Atty. Gen. Corbett said in an interview that drivers from New Jersey or New York can save approximately $1,000 to $4,000 worth of car insurance costs per year by falsely claiming to be residents of Pennsylvania and insuring their cars in the state. Reports indicate that cases similar to this have been filed before as the auto policy premiums and coverage requirements in Pennsylvania are a lot more affordable as compared to other states. Corbett adds that the real financial victims in these cases are the honest and hardworking citizens of Pennsylvania who carry the burden of paying high premiums when their insurance providers find out that they have been paying for claims filed by fraudulent motorists who are not really residents of the state.
27 Comments Received
January 20th, 2010 @7:37 PM
How much money has passed thru your hands in a lifetime?
January 27th, 2010 @4:49 PM
Somehow pretty frustrating.
Not the fact tha people try to trick the system but the fact that we all have to cover the actions of such fraudulent individuals.
They cause severe damage and I just wonder if there is anything that we can do about it.
January 28th, 2010 @12:18 AM
Such fraud is shameful.
February 1st, 2010 @10:51 AM
Wherever there is cheap money to be made there will be scammers. It needs to be a community effort to fight these theives because at the end of the say we all suffer with higher premiums.
February 8th, 2010 @10:24 AM
Most people think they are defrauding a big bad insurance company when in reality they are defrauding their fellow citizens. This is why individuals need to report suspicious activity, otherwise we all pay for it with higher premiums!
February 11th, 2010 @9:07 AM
It angers me when people try to take advantage of these loopholes. For instance: not buying a parking permit cuz their license plate is from out of state though they are residents of the city.
February 15th, 2010 @9:53 PM
Punishable for such fraudulent activities.
February 20th, 2010 @12:06 PM
I am wondering if this blog will be publishing any comments that don’t pile on the “punish the bad buys” bandwagon here.
Have we as yet defined who the bad guys are in this scenario?
This is sad for everyone concerned.
I am so sorry that the only response we have to such a thing is punitive.
How many of these people are unable to adequately provide for their families as a result of the burden our adversarial society places on every one of us.
We have tripled our prison population in the US since 1960, and yet we haven’t learned much about why it is the jails are bursting at the seams.
Are all these people evil simply because Congress and State legislatures have made rules that say they are?
February 20th, 2010 @12:48 PM
This is an interesting article which reflects a many-sided societal problem; a problem which deserves a thorough investigation.
Unfortunately, many WordPress blog owners are using Akismet to banish persons from the WordPress community with whom they disagree.
It is my understanding that Akismet was meant to filter spam, not opinion.
As Provost of Linda Christas College, I must shortly decide whether or not WordPress bloggers are using Akismet as a censor rather than as a spam filter.
So many of our students have been white paged that projects have become difficult if not impossible when dealing with WordPress bloggers who themselves were not responsible for the actions of other WordPress blog owners.
For example, a student or two (Beth and Stetson), both persons who express their opinions on blogs rather than leave “Great Job” kinds of comments, have been white paged by Akismet. Their comments to you on this blog have not appeared as being moderated. They simply have disappeared.
As a college, we fully understand a blogger deleting a comment.
However, for that blogger to have the power to then banish the commenter from all WordPress blogs simply because the blogger disagrees with the philosophy or opinion of someone is unacceptable for an institution encouraging young people to investigate both sides of any question.
February 23rd, 2010 @5:29 PM
It seems like the innocent end up paying for other people’s lies all the time. People lie about their physical abilities to get health care or work leave, or they claim less than their actual income so they don’t have to pay taxes. It’s sick, really, but it’s reality I suppose.
February 24th, 2010 @1:22 AM
thanks for told about Auto Insurance Fraud…………………..
March 4th, 2010 @12:45 PM
I get why they did it and I also understand that their actions effect us all. But what about looking at these insurance companies who charge (and are allowed to charge) such a difference from one state to another. Maybe we should be looking at the insurance fraud instead of these 24 people
March 4th, 2010 @1:15 PM
Some people never learn and will always try and take the easy road, which never really ends up being very easy.
-Jack
March 11th, 2010 @8:52 PM
We can hold many public campaigns to let more people know such thing.Our country alsoneeds to make a corresponding policy.
March 20th, 2010 @7:32 PM
This is why our insurance is so high. I hope they make an example out of these people.
April 4th, 2010 @1:26 PM
Have to agree with Corbett’s comments on this one. This has been a subject of debate in our forum with many failing to understand the discrepancies in quotations across different states. It stands to reason that some are going to take advantage of these ’savings’ by manipulating the system and hoping that they never have an accident.
April 6th, 2010 @2:35 PM
Seems like there’s always people looking for new ways to scam the insurance companies.
April 14th, 2010 @9:24 AM
Hope justice prevails and they are punished for their crime.
April 26th, 2010 @1:06 PM
Unfortunately, things like this raise the rates on others. Glad they were caught.
May 4th, 2010 @3:07 AM
I was going around a garage sale when i stumbled on a book about auto insurance fraud. I wish a had this book last year when I was victimized by these people. Is there not a law that can protect us from them? I mean they tricked us because the system did not screen them properly why do we have to pay for what they did to us.
May 9th, 2010 @4:07 PM
No surprise that some of these guys were from New Jersey. The reason our insurance rates are ridiculous is because of jokers like this that think they can get rich on the tax payers. Add to that the fact that New Jersey is one of the top states for auto theft and it’s no wonder why car insurance is getting higher and higher.
What a lot of these people don’t realize is that for the little money they’re making on all their scams, they’re hurting every one of us. But then again, even if they did realize it, they probably wouldn’t care. That’s why they’re criminals. Thanks for letting me rant.
May 9th, 2010 @10:03 PM
yes i am agree with your point that that there lots of fraud cases coming in the auto insurance industry.
May 11th, 2010 @7:09 AM
It’s because of people like this that auto insurance premiums are so high. Especially in the city insurance premiums are ridiculous.
May 11th, 2010 @8:32 AM
There’s a lot of info. I’ll be back again.
May 14th, 2010 @1:06 AM
Which insurance company is best for auto insurance ?
Good Info.
May 17th, 2010 @12:02 PM
Good, I am glad they got these people. That’s just annoying.
September 12th, 2010 @11:53 PM
A few folks ne’er learn and will forever try and take the easy road, which never actually finishes being very easy.
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