Insurance Fraud

You may deeply regret collecting insurance payments you were not entitled to. But insurance companies will be relentless in tracking you down and seeing you are prosecuted. And you also run the risk of a federal indictment.

What You Need To Know About Federal Insurance Fraud

Although there is no specific US statute solely covering insurance fraud, US prosecutors will charge you under statutes such as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), and statutes for mail fraud and wire fraud.

It is illegal to:

• Knowingly and with intent to defraud, provide an insurer with false or misleading statements about a claim.
• Knowingly and with intent to defraud, provide an insurer with documents that have false or misleading information.
• Knowingly and with intent to defraud, help or conspire with someone else to present false or misleading claims to an insurer.

The FBI investigates insurance fraud cases that include:

• Premium diversion – embezzling insurance premiums
• Fee churning – when several intermediaries collect commissions using reinsurance agreements
• Asset diversion – stealing an insurance company’s assets when companies merge or are acquired
• Fraud that involves disaster relief, such as filing false or inflated insurance claims after a hurricane

Not only can you be indicted on federal charges for insurance fraud, you are also likely to face civil action by the insurance company.

How A Lawyer Will Help

When you are up against a fraud charge, you will be facing inflexible laws and a determined US prosecutor. You will need an attorney who can help you determine all of your options and achieve the best outcome for your circumstances.

United States Code

Read more about federal criminal offenses in the United States Code.