Insurance fraud is an $80-billion crime annually. It has grownmore violent, invasive, and costly in recent years. In response tothis trend, the HYPERLINK “http://www.insurancefraud.org/”CoalitionAgainst Insurance Fraud, a nonprofit alliance of consumer groups,insurance companies, and government agencies, lists its top 10insurance swindlers of 2006 and inducts them into their InsuranceFraud Hall of Shame.

The Hall of Shame reveals the year's largest, most-brazen, orplain stupid insurance crimes. Below are the top property/casualtyfraud schemes that made the Coalition's list:

Carla Patterson. The Newport News, Va. woman said she found adead mouse in her vegetable soup at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.She demanded $500,000 in insurance money, but Cracker Barreldiscovered the rodent had no soup in its lungs, and hadn't beencooked. Patterson received a year in prison.

Tramesha Lashon Fox. The Houston high school chemistry teacherwanted to unload her Chevy Malibu because she was tired of themonthly payments. She gave passing grades to two failing studentsfor “stealing” and torching her car so she could collect insurancemoney. Fox received 90 days in jail and lost her job.

Marc Thompson. Deeply in debt from lavish living, the formerChicago grain futures executive torched his home for $730,000 ininsurance money. He set his basement on fire, then let his90-year-old mother Carmen die in the basement to make it seem shehad set the fire as a suicide. He received 190 years in federalprison.

Robert & Teresa Hammond, Margaret Dillavou & PaulGaines. Incredibly, the two Union County, Ill. couples videotapedthemselves committing a crime: crashing the Hammonds' van into atree to scam insurance money they needed to pay rent to Dillavou.But Dillavou lost the tape. Her estranged husband found it duringan acrimonious divorce and gave it to police. The couples received24 months of probation.

This story was reprinted with permission. For the complete top10 list, which include life/health-related schemes, go towww.insurancefrad.org.

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